The NSW government claims it is placing a "refreshed focus" on the arts in western Sydney, and has made several spending commitments if it is re-elected on March 28.

But one of the region's cultural leaders says western Sydney does not want "hollow promises or shiny white elephants".

The chief executive of Penrith Performing and Visual Arts, Hania Radvan, is critical of the NSW government's commitment to arts in western Sydney.

"Even the Powerhouse proposal is premised on a sale of the existing asset – what does that indicate?" she asks. "We'll only invest in the west if it costs us nothing but we will continue to spend many millions on Opera House, Wharf ...

"Residents west of Parramatta should be outraged at this lack of value placed on their cultural needs by government."

The NSW government has proposed moving the Powerhouse Museum to Parramatta from its present site in inner-city Ultimo, spending $202 million on the Sydney Opera House and $139 million on the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct.

A spokeswoman for Arts Minister Troy Grant says the NSW Coalition government "is placing a refreshed focus on the arts in western Sydney, to support the development of one of the fastest growing regions in Australia".

The rest of its promised $600 million Arts and Cultural Infrastructure Fund will be for projects identified in the State Infrastructure Strategy Update 2014, including several in Sydney's CBD such as the Art Gallery of NSW's $400 million extension plans.

Improving existing cultural facilties in western Sydney was also identified in the infrastructure update, but Radvan says this appeared to be an "afterthought".

"So far government's response is token and even the commitments made to date move only 20 minutes west to Parramatta (and those commitments are long overdue)," she says. "Parramatta is merely the gateway to the region. Don't pile your treasures at the gate – go through it."

The Building Western Sydney's Cultural Arts Economy report, released last month, found just 5.5 per cent of the state government's arts budget went to western Sydney, home to nearly one-third of NSW's population.

It recommends major upgrades to existing venues such as a $30 million expansion of the Campbelltown Arts Centre, a $28 million Aboriginal cultural centre and cultural precinct in Blacktown and a new cultural facility in Liverpool costing $80 million.

Campbelltown Arts Centre director Michael Dagostino says an expansion would create a secure platform for communities and artists to take risks, confront issues and create experiences: "It will renew our existing facility while future-proofing the centre against massive growth, close to half a million people in the region over the next 20 years."

The report compiled by Deloitte for the Sydney Business Chamber and Liverpool, Parramatta and Penrith Councils also includes a $15 million proposal to upgrade the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre and Penrith Regional Gallery, which is managed by the not-for profit company headed by Radvan. The capital works would be spent on new theatrical spaces, updating equipment such as climate control, security and lighting, and enhancing café and restaurant offerings.

"We don't want hollow promises or shiny white elephants – we are realists and pragmatists," Radvan says. "We want to fix what we have and make it work harder, addressing the gaps and deficiencies that are a consequence of old thinking in a rapidly changing social context."

Radvan says she believes there has been no comprehensive response from either side of politics to the Deloitte report, which highlights the value of "refocusing cultural energies away from the CBD to a more diverse investment across a region where people live".

"Yet there is no cultural strategy across greater metropolitan Sydney – no real commitment to grow cultural institutions that are responsive and of the west."

Politicians love building things, but Radvan says western Sydney facilities also need money for programming.

"It costs no less to run a company, produce a show, develop an exhibition in Penrith than it does in the city," she says. "Think of what we could deliver if we were subsidised to the level of our city colleagues, with whom our audiences constantly compare us."

Western Sydney Arts & Culture Lobby spokesman David Capra says arts facilities in Sydney's West are "busting at the seams".

"It would be fantastic to see at least a third - $200 million - of government funding invested in a place where the third of the population are living," he says. "These numbers are only going to grow. The current level of funding the region receives is quite staggeringly low."