Will the government’s $20m investment in attracting overseas productions actually make a difference to the local screen industry? In a feature that first appeared in Encore, Cameron Boon finds out.
The federal government’s March 13 announcement of a $20 million cash injection for the film industry has not died with Simon Crean’s career, and still remains a solid strategy if it is a precursor to an eventual permanent increase say those in the industry.
The new Arts Minister Tony Burke has said the ‘Creative Australia’ initiative will go ahead, including a once-off $20 million location offset to make Australia a more attractive location to international film-makers.
The government has said the money is a precursor to an eventual permanent increase, but international film-makers are looking for certainty when they’re choosing a location to work in.
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The $20 million will be used to offset shooting costs for internationals, which can include equipment and crew hire, accommodation and transport.
While Australia currently offers a 30 per cent tax offset for post-production work, shooting on our shores currently only attracts a 16.5 per cent location offset for overseas productions.
Location agency Ausfilm, which will help to utilise the funding, sees the move as encouraging, while producers body Screen Producers Association of Australia believes more needs to be done to bolster the local production sector. SPAA executive director Matthew Deaner says that although it is an “encouraging signal” to international film-makers, it doesn’t address some key issues. “It doesn’t really go the full way in addressing what needs to happen on an international level,” he said.
“If I’m sitting in a Hollywood studio and I’m looking all around the world at the incentives that exist, while this is potentially attractive it doesn’t give me any confidence that it will actually happen. The rebate needs to be taken up to the full 30 per cent.”
Deaner believes that if the location offset isn’t brought in line with the post-production figure, productions will continue to take work elsewhere.
One of the key examples is a film crew of more than 25 people who left Australia to work on Life of Pi. The Oscar award-winning film had considered Australia as a shooting location but turned to Taiwan, which had a more competitive edge due to Australia’s strong dollar.
Deaner says the film industry in Australia has not been able to take the next step forward due to a number of recommendations put to Stephen Conroy, including the Convergence Review, and Simon Crean, including the Cultural Policy Review, not being taken in their entirety. “In the context of the recommendations, which were needing to be taken as a package, the disappointment is in seeing what could have been an opportunity to really move forward but not having achieved that fully. “But it’s an election year and there’s a tightness in the fiscal side of policy making. Some of the reforms, at least in terms of the Convergence Review which dealt with regulation and direct and indirect investment, were challenging to the government and considered a very difficult political exercise.”
Ausfilm CEO Deborah Richards agrees that there is a need for the location offset to be set at 30 per cent permanently, but was encouraged by the move. She cites examples such as The Wolverine and the announcement of Disney’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea which is to be shot in Australia, as proof we can compete internationally as a filming destination.
“That’ll be a great benefit to us and you can see the success of something like The Wolverine and the amount of jobs and investment in businesses a production like that brings.
“There was some sort of expenditure in every state except the NT and something like 900 businesses were involved and benefited – that’s a huge amount of jobs.
“If a company hires out trucks at full price to a company like Disney for a couple of months, they can then pass the savings on to smaller companies.
“It’s true that Australia has been experiencing a ‘brain drain’ of sorts in recent years because our dollar has been too strong and people have left to chase work overseas in more competitive regions.
“If the $20 million location offset injection is only a one off, then we’re going to continue to see talented people chasing work overseas.”
While Australia was one of the first countries in the world to offer location offset, today many other countries have followed suit making the play for international production a highly competitive one.
Richards says: “We’ve seen the outcome of the 30 per cent offset for post production, with Harry Potter, Ted, Iron Man and the Incredible Burt Wonderstone all having had work done in Australia.
“We know 30 per cent works and that it brings work to Australia. While we’re still pushing for the location offset to be increased to 30 per cent, it is very encouraging to see the one-off increase to help make us competitive internationally.
“We don’t want skilled people going offshore to chase the work, we’d rather have the work come to us.”
This story first appeared in the weekly edition of Encore available for iPad and Android tablets. Visit encore.com.au for a preview of the app or click below to download.
