Government must not be held hostage by film sector lobbyists

Responding to reports that film sector lobbyists are crying out for even more corporate welfare, Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy said:

“Time and time again successive Governments have been warned about falling into the trap of becoming hostage to the film sector. Threats of leaving or fear-mongering of job losses are simply the realisation of the self-fulfilling prophecy of propping up an industry that can’t stand on it’s own two feet.

“New Zealand will always lose at the game of bidding against other countries to offer the most handouts to wealthy elites such as James Cameron and Jeff Bezos with taxpayers bearing the cost of a race to the bottom. We must instead cut all corporate welfare and recycle the savings into reducing the corporate tax rate making our country a more attractive place for all industries, rather than hand-picked winners from Ministers’ special interest groups. 

“If the government instead made it easier to film here, such as by respecting the freedom to contract into unique working arrangements for film workers, we would see films being developed here if it made economic sense to do so. Calls from the automobile industry to subsidise New Zealand car manufacturing would rightly be laughed off, just because the film industry is more hip doesn’t mean that they are entitled to special treatment."