Our jobs matter, say cast and crew

FILM workers facing an uncertain future hope their #myjobmatters campaign will convince the Federal Government to boost tax incentives to protect Australia’s $3 billion film and TV industry.

Queensland’s screen industry and local business want the production and location offset rebates increased and standardised to help attract more major film and TV productions to film here.

A staggering 71 per cent of the 750 local cast and crew employed on the superhero feature Aquaman, filmed on the Gold Coast last year, are not currently working in film.

Screen Queensland CEO Tracey Vieira said almost two thirds (64 per cent) of the 21 per cent still in the industry had moved overseas for work.

She said the #myjobmatters campaign was part of an urgent, industry-wide push to help Queensland “seal the deal” for a major US production to shoot here.

“We have a short window of opportunity to put a more competitive deal on the table and secure our next international production,” she said.

“We need the Australian Government to increase the location offset or we lose another major film.”

Stakeholders including SQ want the Federal Government to introduce a standard 40 per cent film and TV production offset and 30 per cent location offset to provide greater certainty for local workers and offshore studios planning investments in Australia, including new players such as Netflix, Amazon and Stan.

“Netflix have made representations to the Government,” Mrs Vieira said. “Netflix has $8 billion to spend on content but unless its Australian content, like the Chris Lilley series and Tidelands, it’s ineligible for the location offset. The 16.5 per cent is not available unless it’s local content.

“Disney are about to go with streaming video on demand. Amazon and Apple are entering the market and we’re looking like an outdated system – after all the work we’ve done to catch up.”

Uncertainty around projects and the casualised nature of film work often make jobs and pay precarious. With little or no job security for most workers, crew are often forced to find work outside the industry.

Mrs Vieria said Queensland’s film industry hit its straps when the Federal Government raised the location offset from 16.5 per cent to 30 per cent to help attract US blockbusters Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Thor: Ragnarok and Aquaman to the Gold Coast.

MEAA chief executive officer Paul Murphy said the industry needed governments and regulators to assume a guardianship role to guide its overall success. “Our members have told us gut-wrenching stories about how difficult it is to earn a decent income from the industry,” he said.