Treasurer Matt Kean says Dominic Perrottet has not been to Newcastle in the 513 days since he became Premier because he is focused on making the state's economy stronger.
Mr Kean told reporters at a media conference in Newcastle on Wednesday that the Hunter was the "economic powerhouse of the state".
Asked why his boss had not visited such a key city since assuming office on October 5, 2021: Mr Kean said: "The Premier of NSW is obviously focused on ensuring that we grow a strong economy right across NSW.
"And I know that's exactly what's happening right here in the Hunter.
"The Hunter region is the powerhouse of the NSW economy."
The Newcastle Herald posed the same question to Mr Perrottet's office on Wednesday and asked if he would come to Newcastle before the state election on March 25.
He did not explain why he had steered clear of the state's second biggest city for 17 months and did not commit to a trip to Newcastle.
A spokesperson for the Premier said the "NSW Liberal and Nationals government has a long-term economic plan for our state, and Newcastle continues to play an important role in that as outlined in our six cities vision".
Mr Perrottet visited a State Emergency Service control centre at Metford in July last year during flooding and was in Dungog to announce a new toilet block in early February, but he has not been to Newcastle since becoming Premier.
The Premier and his senior ministers have been busy in recent weeks announcing billions of dollars in new transport, swimming pool, park, theatre and school projects from the $5 billion WestInvest fund for western Sydney, where the election is expected to be won and lost in a host of key seats.
In the past week alone, the government has promised to create 100,000 new jobs in western Sydney, celebrated the start of work on Powerhouse Parramatta, the state's largest museum, announced $38 million for new parks and sporting fields in west and north-west Sydney, and committed to preserving the historic Roxy Theatre in Parramatta.
The WestInvest spending spree continued on Wednesday evening when Mr Perrottet announced the government would fork out $111 million on a new five-storey home for Parramatta PCYC.
Leading Hunter political, business and community figures have outlined a long list of priorities to improve the lives of the region's residents, including more investment in social housing, the Hunter Park redevelopment and a freight rail bypass.
Asked why the Hunter had received so little compared with western Sydney, the Premier's spokesperson said: "We will continue to invest in Newcastle and the Hunter, delivering game-changing projects like the M1 Pacific Motorway extension and John Hunter Health and Innovation Precinct, while backing key industries such as aviation, defence, agriculture, energy and the Port of Newcastle to drive jobs growth and economic prosperity for generations to come."
The NSW government is contributing $420 million to the $2.1 billion motorway extension, announced in 2019, and spending $835 million on redeveloping John Hunter.
The government, under former premier Gladys Berejiklian, announced the hospital precinct before the 2019 election.
Mr Kean was in Newcastle to announce that the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal would assess how much compensation Port of Newcastle must pay the government to lift controversial financial penalties which the port says has stopped it developing a large-scale container terminal.
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