Former NSW premier Mike Baird denies the controversial decision to move Sydney's Powerhouse Museum to Parramatta was a "captain's call", stressing it's important for the city's west.
Mr Baird returned to NSW parliament on Monday voluntarily to face an inquiry into museums and galleries, 19 months after resigning from the top job.
"It's great to be back with you ... like long-lost friends," he told the committee at the start of an 80-minute grilling.
In February 2015, a month before the NSW election, the then-premier announced the industrial science museum would be relocated from inner-Sydney Ultimo at a cost now projected to exceed $1 billion.
Greens MP David Shoebridge labelled it a "cavalier" and "wasteful" use of taxpayers' money and accused Mr Baird of making the decision without proper assessment.
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Labor frontbencher Walt Secord suggested he made a "captain's call" and that the former Liberal leader was trying to "re-engineer" the process.
Amid heckles from people in the public gallery who are against the relocation, Mr Baird denied the accusations.
He said the move was based on a recommendation from Infrastructure NSW, had the endorsement of the government's expenditure review committee and cabinet, and was subject to a rigorous business case.
"We are making a great museum even greater. It's a once-in-a-generation opportunity," Mr Baird said.
"This was long overdue in western Sydney."
He said it wasn't a new idea, claiming former Labor minister David Borger - now the Sydney Business Chamber's western Sydney boss - flagged it back in 2010.
Mr Baird acknowledged the three-year wait for a business case to be finalised was "longer than you might expect" but it had delivered a "great outcome".
"As the premier, it was something I was very proud of and I look forward to seeing the Berejiklian government deliver what will be a fantastic facility for the people of western Sydney," he said.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Monday insisted it is the "right decision" and said she, too, was proud of the slated move.
"Why shouldn't western Sydney also have iconic cultural institutions?" she asked reporters.
"You can't expect people to have good environment and good livability without providing the cultural infrastructure to support that."
