Chadwick: A merger is not a plan

The Government has missed another opportunity to respond to the review of the New Zealand Film Commission, instead opting again to tinker around the edges of arts policy with no sign of a robust plan for the sector, says Labour’s Arts, Culture and Heritage spokesperson Steve Chadwick.

“It has been almost a year since Sir Peter Jackson and David Court released their report and we have heard nothing from the Government,” Steve Chadwick said.

“The Budget announcement would have been a great opportunity for the Minister to tell the film industry in New Zealand what they’ll do with the report’s recommendations and if there were initiatives in the Budget to support those recommendations.

“We hoped to see initiatives reflected by this Budget on training and development for scriptwriters, documentary makers and producers. The proposed merger of the New Zealand Film Commission and Film New Zealand is not an innovative plan but simply a cost cutting exercise.

“Does silence from this Government mean there is no plan for New Zealand film? It seems so,” Steve Chadwick said.