Film booty still a secret

TAXPAYER-FUNDED body Screen Queensland claims disclosing how much the State paid Disney to shoot Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales on the Gold Coast would breach confidentiality.

The State Government says the information is protected from disclosure by a Cabinet exemption, but Christopher Boyd, the man who asked for it, says the public has a right to know how much was spent.

“I believe that the Queensland people should know how much money is gifted to US corporations to make feature films,” Mr Boyd said yesterday.

However, Screen Queensland wants to keep secret its negotiations with Disney over State Government financial incentives for it to film Pirates of the Caribbean 5 here in 2015.

Gerard Sammon, counsel for the Department of Premier and Cabinet, has also opposed disclosure of the amount of incentive, claiming it was a Cabinet decision and exempt.

Two years ago, Mr Boyd, of Gold Coast company Glass Media Group, asked for access to documents showing the amount of the incentive paid to Disney. He was given a onepage document, with the sentence describing the value of the incentive payment deleted, and appealed.

On August 19 last year, the Office of the Information Commissioner decided the document should be made public.

“There is a strong and compelling public interest in ensuring that government decisions which result in the transfer of significant quantities of public funds to private interests are made with the utmost transparency and accountability,” the Information Commissioner said.

Screen Queensland (SQ) appealed the decision in the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

Counsel for SQ, Jonathan Horton QC, yesterday told the tribunal that disclosure of the amount paid to Disney would be a breach of confidence.

Mr Horton said keeping the amount confidential avoided a bidding war that might result in even higher payments.

The Information Commissioner said the amount of the incentive paid was in a briefing note created after the Cabinet Budget Review Committee approved the grant to Disney.

The court heard it was only fair for the State to release the figure given the Federal Government had freely divulged its $21.6 million contribution.

Judge Suzanne Sheridan yesterday reserved her decision for a later date. Speaking outside court, Mr Boyd said the economic benefits of shooting foreign films here claimed by the department and Screen Queensland were “ultimately flawed without the release of the amount these projects cost taxpayers”.

“Releasing the figures will enable credible, open, independent research – which is why we filed the RTI application in the first place. We do not accept that government bodies have the right to act without proper accountability.”