Currently, Australia is in a unique position to attract major screen productions that have long-term pipelines because of our success in suppressing COVID-19.
“To help achieve this we are extending our screen incentive over seven years, working together with the tax system, to ensure that studios can commit to multiple productions over multiple years,” said the prime minister.
The entertainment industry has responded well to the announcement with Morrison saying he had already heard from Screen Australia that Hollywood directors Jerry Bruckheimer and Ron Howard’s production companies had reached out to the government based on the announcement.
“There is serious interest in basing films here in Australia,” said Morrison noting that Disney, Paramount, and the Marvel series had already realised that Australia was a safe place to make world-class productions.
To date, the Australian government has given $123 million in funding to 10 productions through the Location Incentive program, including “Thor: Love and Thunder” and “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” in Sydney, “Godzilla vs Kong” on the Gold Coast, “Shantaram” and “The Alchemyst” in Melbourne.
The government estimates that these projects will generate spending of around $1 billion in the economy and support 8,500 local jobs over multiple years by engaging with more than 9,000 Australian businesses.
The prime minister also noted that this investment would mean that the Australian screen and film industry would be a vital part of the country’s economic recovery.
At this critical time, SPA believes the government also needs to ensure there are “appropriate support measures in place that will allow us to continue to make Australian stories, told by Australian voices, supported by sustainable Australian production businesses.”