Wolverine returns to Sydney, ‘2000 jobs created’
A new Wolverine film will be made at Sydney’s Fox Studios, it has been announced this morning, with a $12.8m investment from the Gillard Government to secure the deal.
The one-off payment secured the deal for the producers, of which Hugh Jackman, who plays the Wolverine character, is one.
The investment package, on top of the location offset is equivalent to an increase of the offset to 30 per cent.
A statement from the Gillard Government said that without the one off investment, the producers would not have chose Australia as a location.
None of the revenue from this film will return to Australia. The local gains are purely short term. There is a fierce debate about continuing subsidy to the local car industry yet this project is no different. When are governments going to realise that the Wolverine’s of this world are pure manufacturing subsidies for Hollywood? They don’t build either a competitive manufacturing base as the complete failure of Fox Studios is a testament to nor do they have any cultural benefit for Australians. It is time for a review.