Take action: reverse the NSW screen cuts
Campaign update: NSW government reverses the funding cuts!
The NSW government has announced on September 26 it will reverse the cuts to screen funding it made in the State Budget.
MEAA attended an industry roundtable where Arts Minister John Graham told us and other stakeholders that funding for the Made in NSW program and the Post, Digital and Visual Effects Rebate will be restored with immediate effect. Watch the video where we explain more.
This is a great result for the NSW screen industry that will ensure thousands of jobs and small businesses remain in the state.
The Arts Minister told us that the government had been impressed by the compelling stories he has been told about the importance of the sector and how damaging the cuts would be.
He has listened and he has acted quickly to restore the funding, and now we can work together to develop a sustainable screen policy to ensure that NSW remains a major destination for film and television production.
Well over 1000 people have taken action by contacting their local MPs and key government ministers, including the Premier and the Treasurer, in the past few days.
Congratulations to everyone who has been involved including MEAA members and all stakeholders from the across the industry for this result.
Importantly, this now puts us in a good space to work with the government in developing a strategy for the state’s screen industry as part of its new cultural policy.
Cuts of $60 million to funding for the screen industry in the 2023 NSW Budget will push productions out of the state but they will also directly threaten the livelihoods and the health and wellbeing of thousands of screen workers and their families.
Thousands of supply chain businesses will lose work and the expensive state of the art technical equipment our members use and maintain will be made unproductive.
New South Wales needs a credible and sustainable plan for the screen industry.
That should begin with the reversal of these cuts made in the State Budget.
Use this tool to send an email to your local NSW MPs.
We strongly encourage you to personalise this email as your MP is more likely to reply to a personal message.
If you are a screen industry worker, describe what you do and tell the story of a production you have worked on and what the experience was like and how important it is for your career to have the support of government.
If you are not a screen worker, describe how it feels to see stories about your own community on television and film screens and the difference it would make if those productions were not made in NSW.
Screen workers launch campaign
Wednesday, September 20, 2023
Hundreds of screen workers held a mass meeting in Sydney today and have committed to campaign to reverse cuts to screen industry funding in the NSW Budget that will have a devastating impact on employment and small business. [Read the full story]
The meeting passed the following resolution:
This meeting of New South Wales screen workers has been called in response to cuts to the Made in NSW program and the Post, Digital and Visual Effects Rebate in the 2023 NSW Budget.
These cuts will have a devastating impact by pushing productions out of the state but they will also directly threaten the livelihoods and the health and wellbeing of thousands of screen workers and their families.
Thousands of supply chain businesses will lose work and the expensive state of the art technical equipment our members use and maintain will be made unproductive.
This meeting:
- Notes the cultural and economic importance of the screen industry to the state of New South Wales through the employment of thousands of skilled workers and small businesses.
- Condemns the Minns Government’s decision to go ahead with cuts to NSW screen funding by the previous government.
- Calls on the government to reverse the cuts.
- Calls for the NSW Minister for the Arts to reaffirm the government’s commitment to a far-reaching cultural policy which includes a credible and sustainable plan for the screen industry.
- Endorses a campaign led by the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance to restore funding to the NSW screen industry.
- Calls for the state and federal ministers responsible for the screen industry to come together to devise a cohesive policy that encourages co-operation between the states rather than unproductive competition.
Moved: Arthur Spink
Seconded: Natalie Page
