NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey says the Hunter deserves more government investment, even though big coal royalties generated in the region "belong to everyone" in the state.
Mr Mookhey will deliver his second budget as state Treasurer on Tuesday having promised fiscal restraint in light of what he labels a $12 billion "rip-off" in Commonwealth GST contributions to NSW over the next four years.
The government said last week that it would spend $110 million on upgrading the New England Highway and Golden Highway to transport huge wind turbines from Newcastle port to inland clean energy zones.
On Saturday, it foreshadowed funding in the budget for two previously announced school projects at Huntlee and Medowie.
Hunter councils and business groups have pushed for more investment to unlock housing investment at Hunter Park and the broader region and to diversify the economy.
The Hunter Park and Broadmeadow strategy launched last month estimates moving Newcastle Entertainment Centre, flood mitigation works, light rail extensions, a new swim centre and a long list of other infrastructure projects will require $3 billion in investment over three decades.
None of that funding has been announced, but Mr Mookhey said the 30-year master plan had given the community "a good sense of the direction in which we're heading".
"We have shown people what the master plan for Broadmeadow looks like, and equally that it is a project to be built over 30 years," he said in an interview with the Newcastle Herald.
"Obviously, every government stages these things, and equally every government does need to consider the long-term when it comes to making these decisions, which we are doing.
"No one particular budget will solve all those problems, and this particular budget will not solve all those problems."
Current and previous governments have faced calls to invest more of the billions of dollars the state receives in Hunter coal royalties back into the region.
Mr Mookhey said the previous government had shortchanged the Hunter.
"I very much respect the contribution of the Hunter to the NSW economy, including the contribution of the coal industry in the Hunter both to the state's economy as well as to the state's budget," he said.
"I do make the point that royalties belong to everyone in NSW, just like I think iron ore belongs to all Australians even if it comes out of Western Australia.
"We do think the Hunter deserves more investment. We are investing more in the Hunter as a result.
"For 12 years the Hunter didn't get the investment it deserved from the previous government, so we are in the midst of turning that around right now, which is why we are increasing investment in the Hunter's roads and schools and putting more money into the Hunter's hospitals as well."
The Herald understands Tuesday's budget will include another $26.5 million for the planned Cessnock Hospital upgrade on top of the $111 million announced by the previous government in 2021.
Mr Mookhey said the government was "staging all the projects ... because we're investing so much in Hunter infrastructure".
A recent survey by University of Newcastle's Institute for Regional Futures found housing and health were by far the two most pressing issues for Hunter people.
Hunter advocates and the property industry have questioned whether the government's Transport Oriented Development Program will attract private investment because some of the rail stations identified in the scheme receive only one train an hour.
Mr Mookhey said critics of the program needed to come up with an alternative plan.
"People who oppose the Transport Oriented Development project are opposing housing near public transport, and, if we're not building housing near public transport, those people need to say where they'd like to build it," he said.
"Equally, if people just oppose building more homes, then they need to explain to the next generation of kids in the Hunter and the rest of NSW why we are barring them from future home ownership.
"I'm not surprised that there are parts of the development industry that will only look at this as a financial calculation, but I ask them to look at this at a social level.
"We need everybody to do their bit to solve this housing crisis."
Mr Mookhey said the government would provide a total of $200 million in funding incentives to councils if they achieved ambitious new housing targets published last month.
He said the government's planning changes, including allowing more density around train stations, would set the groundwork for private sector housing investment when interest rates dropped.
"Doing nothing is not an option," he said.
Other major items on the Hunter's budget wish list include reinstating the Newcastle Mines Grouting Fund, the long-awaited Lower Hunter freight rail bypass, a start on the promised Mandalong Road upgrade at Morisset, funding to help attract international flights to Newcastle Airport, Wallsend flooding works and $11 million already promised for the Five Islands roundabout at Speers Point.
