Ross Vasta (Bonner, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Bonner's bayside enjoyed some star-spotting this week, with the production of NBC's Young Rock filming in Wynnum. Young Rock is a television series based on the younger years of actor and retired professional wrestler Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. Excitingly, Wynnum's Sports Karate venue on Fox Street was transformed into a 1980s body-building gym, with eighties American muscle cars lining the streets.

In August, the Morrison government announced $19.5 million for NBCUniversal studio group to produce three high-end television series in Australia under the government's Location Incentive program. In doing so, the local production of these three series will inject more than $140 million of spending into the local economy and create more than 3,000 jobs for Australian cast, crew and extras.

Australia's production sector is world class, and my electorate of Bonner has been used on many occasions for filming major productions, including Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, starring Johnny Depp; and Unbroken, which was directed and produced by Angelina Jolie. Many local businesses in my electorate benefited from these productions, with cast, crew and stars dining out and shopping daily. Screen Queensland Studios in Hemmant in Bonner have also seen plenty of new activity, thanks to local film and television production, and I was pleased recently to have the opportunity to tour this state-of-the-art facility.

Young Rock, Joe Exotic and Irreverent are all high-profile, large-scale productions, and send a message that Australia is a COVID-safe location.