As speculation intensified that smokers, beer drinkers and some infertile couples would be worse off as a result of the budget, Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner said the Government had tried to take a ''forensic approach'' to find savings.

''We have tried to be as fair as possible to ensure that the pain that will flow from very tough choices ... will mostly be felt by people that are reasonably well-off, people at the upper end of the income scale, people that can bear a little bit of that impact and certainly to protect people at the lower end of that income scale,'' Mr Tanner said.

Cuts to superannuation tax concessions for high-income earners and a $30 a week increase to the single age pension are among initiatives expected in the budget.

The Government may also impose limits on access to publicly funded IVF treatment and increase the price of cigarettes by $2.50 a packet and draught beer by 15c.

Opposition treasury spokesman Joe Hockey said it was ''not good to see that beer and ciggies are going up'' in the budget.

Opposition health spokesman Peter Dutton called on the Government to restate its commitment to the Medicare safety net and private health insurance rebates, saying these seemed to be in the ''budget firing line''.

''There are 11 million Australians who have private health insurance and those people don't want to see their premiums jacked up because of this Government's mismanagement of the economy,'' Mr Dutton said.

Treasurer Wayne Swan and MrTanner refused yesterday to comment on specific measures in the budget to be handed down on Tuesday.

For more, pick up a copy of today's Canberra Times