Minister defends Powerhouse Museum move

The Berejiklian government has doubled down on its contentious plans to move the Powerhouse Museum from Sydney’s CBD.

NSW Arts Minister Don Harwin. Picture: Brett Costello

The Berejiklian government has doubled down on its contentious plans to move the Powerhouse Museum from Sydney’s CBD to Parramatta, saying the project will cost less than the billion-dollar-plus blowout claimed by its opponents.

A parliamentary inquiry last week slammed the scheme to ­relocate the long-established ­Ultimo museum, saying it was based on poor planning, a flawed business case and insufficient consultation.

But Arts Minister Don Harwin told The Australian Parramatta would gain a world-class museum with a net government input of $645 million, plus contributions from the private sector. He declined to name the total cost but said it was less than $1 billion, and not in the region of $1.2bn-$1.5bn as claimed by the project’s opponents.

The scheme, first announced by Mike Baird in 2015 and ­endorsed by Gladys Berejiklian, will see a new museum built on the banks of the Parramatta River, with exhibits moved from the established Powerhouse ­Museum at Ultimo.

The Ultimo site will become a design and fashion museum in a creative industries precinct that will include a new lyric theatre.

Both sites will involve private investment to “offset” development costs, with the Parramatta precinct likely to include a commercial or residential tower. ­Options for the Ultimo site are still under consideration.

Labor arts spokesman Walt Secord has criticised the policy to “forcibly” move the Powerhouse and accused the government of secret deals with property developers.

But Mr Harwin said NSW should embrace co-investment in the cultural space as was happening with developments in Europe and North America.

“I am not scared of the idea of having mixed cultural and other development on one site,” he said.

He defended the appointment late last year of new directors to the governing Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences Trust, including Darren Steinberg, chief executive of the Dexus property group.