Actor says ‘Hobbit Law’ should protect series actors

WELLINGTON: The actor who protested against the treatment of New Zea landers working on The Hobbit says recent changes to the ‘‘Hobbit Law’’ will protect those working on Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series.

After months of speculation, the tech giant has confirmed what is thought will be the world’s most expensive TV series will be shot in New Zealand.

It is expected to benefit both the film industry and the economy, but some are worried the show’s megabudget may take Middle Earth away from its humble beginnings.

In 2010, New Zealand actor Robyn Malcolm led a campaign to negotiate a standard contract for actors in The Hobbit.

The films were on the brink of moving overseas until the former National government stepped in and changed employment laws to define those working on the movies as independent contractors.

This year, the Government revoked those changes to what has become known as the ‘‘Hobbit Law’’.

Malcolm said the ability to negotiate collectively would protect those working on the upcoming series.

‘‘Actors — if they discover that they are being treated unfairly compared to their compadres from other countries — can collectively bargain,’’ she said.

‘‘I don’t know if that will be necessary. I would hope that Amazon will treat all actors equally whether they are from New Zealand, Australia, UK, America, Europe, wherever.’’

She said New Zealand workers had been exploited here in the past, but she hoped the industry had moved on since then.

‘‘If we do see that starting to happen, [I hope] that as groups of workers we’re strong enough to go ‘No, that’s not acceptable to us’.’’ — RNZ