NZ gets to keep 'Hobbit' amid protest
Source: Agencies |
October 30, 2010, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE New Zealand government yesterday passed legislation clearing the way for two "Hobbit" films to be made in the country despite stiff protest by opposition lawmakers, who said it was a "day of shame."
The government's decision to rush through amended labor laws, part of the deal made with Warner Bros Pictures to keep director Peter Jackson's lucrative project in his native New Zealand, has split public opinion.
Some union officials reportedly received death threats in the wake of a short-lived international boycott over working conditions.
Warner Bros executives said they would consider moving the production elsewhere, a move that could have cost the country US$1.5 billion and damaged the reputation of its fledgling film industry. They flew down to New Zealand earlier this week to negotiate with a delegation led by Prime Minister John Key.
The government announced a deal on Wednesday to keep the films in New Zealand, although it was forced to hand over tens of millions of dollars for the privilege.
"We were not prepared to see thousands of Kiwi jobs disappear and we were not prepared to see the hard work of the many talented New Zealanders who built our film industry from scratch put at risk," Labor Minister Kate Wilkinson told parliament.
Included in the deal was an offer of US$25 million, some US$15 million of that in tax breaks, and the law changes, which were pushed through without the normal process of referral to a parliamentary committee and public submissions.
"What is the government going to do next - give in to any multi-national that asks for a labor standard to be diluted in return for some form of investment?" said opposition lawmaker Charles Chauvel.
"This is a government which, in the words of the Financial Times today (yesterday), has reduced New Zealand to client status of an American film studio."
Another opposition lawmaker held up a redesigned national flag with the Warner Bros logo in one corner.
Warner Bros, a Time Warner Inc unit, has declined comment, but Jackson said he was thrilled.
"We are grateful to the government for introducing legislation which shall give everyone in the film industry certainty as to their employment status," Jackson and his wife/collaborator Fran Walsh said in a statement.
The government's decision to rush through amended labor laws, part of the deal made with Warner Bros Pictures to keep director Peter Jackson's lucrative project in his native New Zealand, has split public opinion.
Some union officials reportedly received death threats in the wake of a short-lived international boycott over working conditions.
Warner Bros executives said they would consider moving the production elsewhere, a move that could have cost the country US$1.5 billion and damaged the reputation of its fledgling film industry. They flew down to New Zealand earlier this week to negotiate with a delegation led by Prime Minister John Key.
The government announced a deal on Wednesday to keep the films in New Zealand, although it was forced to hand over tens of millions of dollars for the privilege.
"We were not prepared to see thousands of Kiwi jobs disappear and we were not prepared to see the hard work of the many talented New Zealanders who built our film industry from scratch put at risk," Labor Minister Kate Wilkinson told parliament.
Included in the deal was an offer of US$25 million, some US$15 million of that in tax breaks, and the law changes, which were pushed through without the normal process of referral to a parliamentary committee and public submissions.
"What is the government going to do next - give in to any multi-national that asks for a labor standard to be diluted in return for some form of investment?" said opposition lawmaker Charles Chauvel.
"This is a government which, in the words of the Financial Times today (yesterday), has reduced New Zealand to client status of an American film studio."
Another opposition lawmaker held up a redesigned national flag with the Warner Bros logo in one corner.
Warner Bros, a Time Warner Inc unit, has declined comment, but Jackson said he was thrilled.
"We are grateful to the government for introducing legislation which shall give everyone in the film industry certainty as to their employment status," Jackson and his wife/collaborator Fran Walsh said in a statement.
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