Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the government's intervention in the energy market is providing relief for households, with new figures showing that the forecast for how much electricity prices would rise has fallen.
Dr Chalmers said the latest analysis forecasts electricity charges will increase 23 per cent, which is down from the original 30 per cent in the October budget.
"Our plan is designed to take some of the edge off these energy price rises and we're really encouraged to see that's the case," he told the ABC's Insiders on Sunday.
The treasurer also said a decision on whether to extend the term of Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe will be made in the middle of the year, as the central bank continues to dish out pain for mortgage holders through consecutive rate hikes.
Dr Chalmers said he will receive the recommendations of the government's central bank review in March and respond to it before the May budget.
"The decision about the Reserve Bank governor ... will be taken closer to the middle of the year in consultation with the prime minister and our cabinet colleagues," the treasurer said.
"(The review) is an opportunity to think about the best structures and processes and objectives of the Reserve Bank going forward."
Asked if the RBA boss was dong his job properly, Dr Chalmers would not be drawn and said he genuinely respected the independence of the central bank.
"That's an important feature of the system, I'm not going to second guess the decisions," he said.
Dr Chalmers said Dr Lowe will be appearing before parliamentary committees in the coming days and could explain his decision to attend a private lunch with bank traders as reported by the Australian Financial Review.
"I think there's a broader issue here about how the bank communicates the context for its decisions," the treasurer said.
Dr Chalmers said the government wasn't expecting a surplus in the upcoming budget, saying he was planning to save the windfall resulting from high commodity prices.
"We'll bank most of it, we haven't decided yet on every element of the budget," he said.
"This budget is different to the October budget in the sense that we're on the other side, ideally, of the inflation peak."
