NSW arts minister dismisses claims $915m Parramatta Powerhouse museum is being built on a flood zone

Minister grilled over museum's ability to withstand one-in-100-year flood levels at Parramatta riverbank site

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As the banks of the Parramatta River steadily rose and engulfed the Powerhouse Parramatta museum construction site on Tuesday afternoon, the state's politicians in Macquarie Street were arguing about what constituted a one-in-100-year flood.

Labor member of the legislative council, Walt Secord, grilled the new New South Wales arts minister, Ben Franklin, during question time. He attempted to table images and video from his phone to prove that the government's controversial choice of site for the museum - one that will house many of the state's most valuable and irreplaceable objects from 2025 onward - was misguided and foolhardy.