Chris Minns is heading to Newcastle for the first time since being elected 15 months ago.
The NSW Premier will deliver the keynote address at a combined Business Hunter and University of Newcastle event at City Hall on June 26.
The Premier and his Liberal predecessor, Dominic Perrottet, have attracted criticism for not visiting the Hunter while in office.
By the Newcastle Herald's reckoning, it is 1300 days since a NSW premier last visited Newcastle, when Liberal leader Gladys Berejiklian unveiled designs for the John Hunter Hospital rebuild on October 2, 2020.
Mr Minns insists "Newcastle is one of my favourite places" in the state and has talked extensively about reviving the city's train-building workshops.
His government has announced plans to squeeze 10 years of population growth into Newcastle and Lake Macquarie in the next five years by boosting housing supply.
Mr Minns visited other parts of the Hunter several times last year, including once in September for a blitz of the Port Stephens, Maitland and Lake Macquarie electorates and to pay tribute to the victims of the Greta bus crash in July and October.
Between those visits, he forced Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp to resign from his cabinet for failing to fully disclose his family's property interests in the city, saying he had "lost confidence in his ability to be a minister in my government".
Mr Minns said in March that he planned to break his year-long Newcastle drought in June.
"I'm looking forward to it ... Newcastle is one of my favourite places in the state to visit," he said.
"I know there are many people doing it tough and there are important issues facing Newcastle and the Hunter."
Mr Perrottet infamously never visited Newcastle in his 539-day reign as the state's leader.
