Just days after Indi Liberal candidate Sophie Mirabella revealed the hospital missed out on $10 million because she was not elected, donation envelopes appeared in the letterboxes of Wangaratta homes.

Northeast Health Wangaratta was aiming to raise $350,000 to establish a centre of excellence for rehabilitation using high-tech robotic equipment.

The appeal was launched late last year, but the push for donations resumed last week.

Hospital board chairman Brendan Schutt and chief executive Margaret Bennett have not cleared up confusion over exactly what funding was promised to the organisation in 2013 and were refusing to comment.

Indi MP Cathy McGowan said any budget announcements on Tuesday evening should come with a promise they would be delivered regardless of the election outcome.

She said a 2013 freeze on the indexation of grants had caused serious funding issues for all local councils.

“I’m really hoping that will be reversed,” Ms McGowan said.

She was also against the wine equalisation tax rebate, which affected 110 Indi wineries and could be phased out as recommended in a federal government review.

Farrer MP Sussan Ley reiterated Treasurer Scott Morrison’s statement the budget would be about jobs and innovation.

She said agriculture could be a strong base for innovation in rural areas.

The health portfolio had a $60 billion budget, but capital funding for regional hospitals, such as Wangaratta, would remain individual states’ responsibility.

Ms Ley said Medicare, funding for chronic illnesses and working on breakthrough medications, would also feature in the budget.

“My key task in health is to remove the inefficiencies,” she said.

“We’ve been very responsible with this budget.”