Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party, Minister for Superannuation, Financial Services and the Digital Economy) Share this | Hansard source

The government opposes this amendment. The government is pursuing an integrated package of reforms, including support to attract a pipeline of inbound production, changes to the Australian Screen Production Incentive, and additional funding for Screen Australia and the Australian Children's Television Foundation.

Changes to the Australian Screen Production Incentive are designed specifically to refocus government support to that sector, encouraging it to target expenditure towards on-screen quality and incentivising the creation of original Australian stories that can better compete in the global marketplace. They will also support producers to create content of ambition and scale that will meet audience expectations. This is being achieved through careful balancing and targeting of the Australian government's tax offset policy settings to achieve the objective of supporting a mix of domestic and international production, generating jobs and stimulating the economy. Major amendments to this bill, like the amendment proposed by Labor, will significantly diminish the effectiveness of the changes and upset the balance that's needed to achieve the objectives of creating local Australian content which can compete for domestic and global audiences while also generating jobs and stimulating the economy.