New Zealand’s filmmakers union Spada has stepped up its calls for a tax on streamers, saying Australia’s new local content requirements put New Zealand at a “disadvantage”.
In a statement released today, the union said the Australian policy, which came into effect from January 1, will “significantly change the competitive landscape for screen production in the region” and “have an immediate impact on where global platforms choose to invest, commission and develop projects across the region”.
Under Australia’s new requirements, streamers with more than 1 million subscribers will have to invest 10 per cent of their total Australian programming spend in new local content, including drama, comedy, children’s, documentaries, arts and educational programming, and 7.5 per cent of local revenue.
Spada president Eileen Gardiner said Australia’s framework reflected policy settings already built into the broadcast system. This is a setting that does not currently exist in New Zealand.
Eileen Gardiner, president of Spada.
Under New Zealand’s current trade agreements, imposing local content quotas on streaming platforms is also considered legally complex, and Spada says a tax-based approach is the most viable mechanism to support domestic film production.
“Australia has a quota system because Australia already has local production quotas for free-to-air broadcasters. We don’t have that here, so Spada has advocated for taxing streamers’ New Zealand earnings and allowing them to invest in local production through the film funding agencies New Zealand Film Commission, NZ On Air and Te Mangai Paho,” Mr Gardiner said.
“We are actively engaging with policymakers about the best way forward and the right settings to move forward, but now is the time to strike so we can take advantage of what is happening in Australia.”
Mr Gardiner added that streamers were having a “negative impact” on local viewership and therefore advertising revenue in the New Zealand market, posing “serious challenges” to local production.
“There is a clear opportunity for New Zealand to act now as Australia moves forward. Any further delay risks long-term damage to local production, jobs and our ability to tell New Zealand’s stories on screen.”
The NZ Labor Party has proposed introducing a streaming tax if it wins an election scheduled for this year.
“Taxing streamers will ensure that major international streaming operators invest directly and fairly in local content,” Labor’s broadcasting, media and creative economy spokesperson Reuben Davidson told the Post yesterday.
“We will seek advice to learn from similar legislation in Australia and introduce a streaming tax as soon as possible after the election.”
A spokesperson for Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Paul Goldsmith also told the newspaper that no decision had yet been made on whether National would move forward with introducing the levy.
Under Australia’s local content standards, New Zealand content is technically considered ‘Australian’ (as a result of the Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement). For more than a decade, the Australian Film Producers Association has argued this is a “loophole” that must be closed.
