Willis says she ‘persuaded’ ACT to back $500m film subsidy boost, Seymour disagrees

Friday, 16 May 2025

Finance Minister Nicola Willis will hand down the Budget on May 22.

Economic Growth Minister Nicola Willis says the coalition backs her plan to pour $577 million into an international film and television subsidy, despite ACT leader David Seymour’s previous call for it to be scrapped altogether.

Willis, who on Friday unveiled the Government’s fifth and largest pre-Budget announcement - a lifeline for the film and television sector - said she “persuaded” Seymour to back the decision to pour new money into the international screen production rebate and bring its total funding to $1.09 billion.

“I persuaded him in the same way that I presented the case to you, which is, how can we be a government for economic growth if we allow a major industry to die? That would be inconsistent,” she said.

But Seymour said he wasn’t persuaded of anything. “Our position remains that film subsidies are not good policies,” he said, adding that not every government policy will reflect ACT’s position.

The Labour leader says the Government's move to cancel 33 pay equity claims is gaslighting half the population.

Willis announced the money would be injected over this year, and over the next four, in an announcement at Stone Street Studios in Miramar, where Hollywood blockbuster King Kong was filmed.

It comes after an intense week for the National-led coalition, which has faced widespread anger and frustration - including nation-wide protests - after it overhauled pay equity legislation, making made it harder for people in female-dominated workforces to challenge gender-based discrimination. The change is expected to save the Government “billions”.

How the rebate works

Eligible productions can access a 20% rebate where production costs are more than $15m for feature films, and $4m for television productions, effectively reducing their costs. The fund is uncapped, and demand driven, meaning an unlimited number of productions can apply.

ACT leader David Seymour has previously opposed the policy.

An extra 5% rebate is available to productions spending more than $30m, and which meet additional criteria for industry and economic growth.

Seymour has been a vocal critic of the policy, lambasting it as giving “billions of taxpayer dollars to Hollywood elites” and pointing out the Treasury, in 2018, told the Government the subsidy equated to a 10c loss for every dollar spent.

Willis said productions had invested nearly $7.5b in New Zealand in the past decade, supported by $1.5b in rebate payments.

Graham Mason, chair of the Film Commission, said the Government’s boost paid dividends for taxpayers.

“Do the math yourself, New Zealand, that’s a $6 billion leave behind, which is employing regular people.

“People look at movie stars, but you forget that there’s hundreds, if not thousands of people employed too as carpenters, as electricians, as cleaners, as security guards, as caterers, who rent cars and book flights and hotel rooms and eat at cafes and buy wood from Bunnings. So this is an enormous industry that has major ripple effects.”