Singleton major Sue Moore says it is "frustrating" to see the cash and attention lavished on western Sydney while the Hunter is left to "grovel and beg" for every scrap of funding.
Cr Moore and Muswellbrook mayor Steven Reynolds called on the NSW government on Wednesday to establish a statutory body to support the Hunter's economic transition.
On the same day Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Sam Farraway arrived in the two Hunter towns to announce $7.5 million in road repair funding, the mayors said the next state government should "protect the Hunter from market conditions in any industry".
Cr Moore and Cr Reynolds want all candidates at next month's state election and the major parties to commit to setting up a statutory body with the legislative power and resources to provide "leadership, strategy, policy, governance and accountability to drive a whole-of-region approach to economic evolution now, and for generations to come".
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The mayors' call echoes previous requests from business and community advocates for a transition authority in light of the forecast decline in global coal demand.
"It is a regional issue and needs a regional approach led appropriately by the next NSW government to provide certainty and deliver the best outcomes for every person in the Hunter," Cr Moore said.
She said the Hunter "absolutely" deserved the kind of strategic approach being applied to Sydney's west, where the Western Parkland City Authority works to coordinate and attract investment.
The Upper Hunter electorate, the third most marginal in NSW, will be a key battleground in the election, but western Sydney has 10 seats up for grabs which could decide who forms government.
The Newcastle Herald reported on Saturday that the Coalition had made almost $3.5 billion in funding announcements for western Sydney under its $5 billion WestInvest program.
The western Sydney largesse has continued to flow in the five days since the Herald published its report.
The Coalition announced $176 million on Saturday for a new 1300-seat theatre in Parramatta, launched business cases for four new Sydney Metro rail lines in Sydney's west on Sunday, committed $130 million on Tuesday to air-condition every classroom in western Sydney, and handed out $316 million on Wednesday for 15 west and north-west Sydney sports fields, including a $53.7 million indoor and outdoor complex in Greystanes and other funds for new synthetic pitches and park upgrades.
Cr Moore said western Sydney's large population had important infrastructure needs "but I also feel in rural areas we shouldn't need to grovel and beg for every little bit of funding".
Mr Farraway announced funding for four projects in Upper Hunter under the government's $500 million "fixing local roads" program, including $2.8 million for Allyn River Road at Halton, $721,000 for Victoria Street, Muswellbrook, $1 million for Singleton shire and $3 million for Hunter Road at Moonan Flat and Ellerston.
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