Dora’s been saved but local industry is still in peril
Once again, the Queensland government has had to step into to secure a new feature film for Australia, further highlighting how internationally uncompetitive the federal incentives for overseas film and television productions are.
The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance, the union for performers, crew and other screen workers, welcomes yesterday’s announcement by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk that her government would provide an extra cash top up to ensure the live action film Dora The Explorer is made on the Gold Coast.
The Queensland government intervention came after Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison rejected a request to top up the federal incentive to bring the production to Australia.
MEAA Queensland regional director Michelle Rae said it was the second time this month that the Queensland government had acted decisively to secure a production here, following Ms Palaszczuk’s trip to Los Angeles to finalise a deal for the Vietnam War feature Danger Close.
“These two productions will bring work in Queensland for about 400 crew and performers. We are thankful and relieved that the Premier has acted,” Ms Rae said.
“The production pipeline was looking very bleak until these films were confirmed and without those top ups, the filmmakers would have gone elsewhere.
“What this demonstrates is that the incentives to bring offshore productions to Australia need to be permanently increased.”
MEAA is calling for the location offset to be increased to 30% in the May Budget.
The director of MEAA’s Entertainment, Crew & Sport section, Erin Madeley said Australia’s location offset of 16.5% is one of the lowest in the world, with many other countries now offering incentives of between 20% and 40% to producers.
This was recognised last year by a bipartisan Parliamentary inquiry into the sustainability of our film and television industry.
“The reality is that Australia is missing out on productions because the business case is not stacking up for studios,” Ms Madeley said. “Australia is a desirable location for the world screen industry because it’s safe, and because of our talented actors and crew and great scenery, but in an increasingly competitive marketplace, screen producers need to weigh that up against the bottom line.
“We are already seeing production talent heading overseas because of lack of work.”
Federal governments have provided ad hoc top-ups since 2012 to keep the industry going.
TAKE ACTION at meaa.org/offset.
Dora’s been saved but local industry is still in peril
Last update: March 19, 2018
