Port Stephens Cutting, Oxley Highway upgrades miss out in NSW budget; Gunnedah hospital gets $500,000

That's according to Business NSW Regional Manager Joe Townsend.

The Oxley Highway, which remains closed after March's flooding rains, and the notorious Port Stephens Cutting, have gone unfunded in this week's budget.

Mr Townsend said it was an example of a budget with little new or exciting infrastructure schemes on offer for the Tamworth region.

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"I was really hopeful that there would have been some funding in there for some long-term solutions for Port Stephens Cutting and Oxley Highway," he said.

"They seem to have failures occur and be shut a lot lately due to floods and bushfires. [An upgrade] would have been really beneficial."

He said the lack of planning cash for new roads was "the disappointing part for our region", but he said additional money for the Muswellbrook bypass would help improve regional freight connections.

Tamworth MP Kevin Anderson last month called on his government to fund a feasibility study for an upgrade of the Port Stephens Cutting.

The major freight route is also used by many tourists to travel to and from Tamworth, and is the most direct route to the coast from the city.

Mr Anderson said he was confident the money would be forthcoming in an off-budget announcement.

"I'm sincerely hopeful, given my discussions with the regional roads minister today, that we will see something positive shortly," he said.

"The east-west links are critical. There would be hundreds of thousands of dollars being spent on the Oxley Highway as we speak, to repair it, to get it back, and at least open, and then start to look at those pinch points."

Mr Anderson pointed to a $500,000 allocation for planning and consultation for the already-announced $53m new Gunnedah hospital.

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He said it might not appear like a new project because he's been talking about it for so long.

"There is an old saying, you can say something 10 times and someone only just hears it for the first time. That is why I keep talking about these projects to make sure that when budget time comes around the money is allocated to them," he said.

"The more I talk about [a project] the more it gains focus and the better chance it has of getting funding and that's what's what we're seeing in this budget. There's plenty of success stories in this budget for our region, which is ultimately looking at job creation, stimulating our economy and keeping a Tamworth electorate driving forward."

All told, the electorate would get about $218 million in infrastructure spending through the budget, Mr Anderson said.

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That compares with about $349.5m in Northern Tablelands, according to local MP Adam Marshall.

The Tamworth MP said he'd fought for and won millions in infrastructure spending over his decade-long term.

"When I look out at the investment that's happening in the Tamworth electorate spread over the last couple of years, we've had a lot of those big ticket items," he said.

"I pushed very hard for early in my term, like the $211m investment in the Tamworth hospital; the $53m for Gunnedah hospital; there was a multi-million upgrade for Manilla MPS; multi-million dollar upgrade for Werris Creek MPS; when you look at the $62m upgrade and brand-new Gunny overpass. These are projects that I got on the ground early and went very hard early to make sure we got those big ticket items."

The government is slated to spend $500,000 on the new Gunnedah hospital; $14 million on Gunnedah's new saleyards; $8 million for Rangari Road, and $9 million for Werris Creek Road - all projects that have previously been announced.

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Tamworth itself will get $1.65 million for a new social housing strategy, an $8.85 million new agriculture institute and $2.75 million towards a new TAFE Shares Services Centre - again, projects announced earlier this year.

Tamworth's Intermodal Activation Project will get $10 million in the 2021-2022 financial year.

Tamworth Jockey Club will get $2.4 million in upgrades.

Farther afield, the budget reveals the new Wee Waa High School will cost the taxpayer about $37.83 million. The old school was closed due to an illness which is believed to be caused by mold.

The government will also spend $22.6 million statewide to construct groundwater monitoring bores in areas with large coal mining and coal seam gas deposits like Gunnedah and Narrabri.

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