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Producers to lobby against NZ content

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The Screen Producers Association of Australia will lobby the Rudd Government to overhaul local content rules after an unprecedented number of New Zealand-made programs have flooded our television screens.

Under the current regulations, New Zealand-made shows count towards the networks’ Australian content quota requirement, which obliges broadcasters to devote at least 55percent of their programming to locally made shows.

SPAA executive director Geoff Brown said budget-conscious networks are taking advantage of the arrangement under the Australia New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Agreement to run cheap New Zealand imports instead of making more expensive Australian-made programs.

“I don’t think the networks see Australian content as an obligation,” Mr Brown told the Sun Herald. “I think they see it as a liability. They are trying to reduce their costs and maintain their quotas by screening material from New Zealand. For every hour of New Zealand programming that goes to air, that’s an hour of Australian programming that doesn’t.”

New Zealand-made programs increased significantly over the summer non-ratings period, with Channel Seven screening the observational series Wild Vets and Coastwatch and Channel TEN airing the drama Orange Roughies (pictured). Nine has enjoyed ratings success with factual series Police Ten 7 and will screen the New Zealand version of The Zoo, set at Auckland Zoo, from tomorrow.

Other New Zealand productions recently aired in Australia include Outrageous Fortune (on both Nine and TEN), the animated comedy Bro’Town (SBS), school satire Seven Periods With Mr Gormsby (ABC) and factual series SCU: Serious Crash Unit (Seven).

Three years ago Nine came under scrutiny when Outrageous Fortune was expected to be submitted as local content. Bowing to pressure, Nine did not proceed with it.

Mr Brown said it was “a joke” to treat New Zealand content in the same way as Australian content. “For example, last year Channel TEN filled 20percent of its Australian drama content quota with New Zealand programs,” he said. “You cannot tell me that screening Orange Roughies at 10.30 on a Friday night is fulfilling the Australian drama content quota in the same way as a first run Australian-made drama.”

Some Aussie actors have appeared in the New Zealand dramas including Caroline Craig in Orange Roughies (pictured) and Grant Bowler in Outrageous Fortune.

MEAA lobbied the Howard Government against a move to recognise New Zealand television as Australian content but lost the fight. The Howard Government’s Free Trade Agreement with the US was a battle also lost by the MEAA, ruling out any future increase in the minimum requirements of Australian content.

The Screen Producers Association will meet Federal Government representatives in Canberra next month to discuss overhauling the regulations.

Source: smh.com.au

18 Responses

  1. They need to adjust the formula – like maybe NZ shows count for only half the local content points. Think we need to encourage the Kiwis but not quite so much at the expense of local production.

  2. Someone BBBA, it’s not as simple as that. It’s much cheaper for a network to buy a show from overseas than it is to produce a show at home. The Australian content requirements ensure that the Australian TV production industry doesn’t collapse for economic reasons. It’s telling that the only new serial produced last year was funded by the BBC – the local networks don’t want to commit to the expense, especially not when they can show a US-produced program 10 times a week for a fraction of the cost.

    The Australian content requirement definitely needs to stay in effect.

  3. Who bloody cares? I for one am glad that shows such as Outrageous Fortune have aired on Australian television. The stupid Australian content requirements should be abolished, seeing as all they do in force the networks to commission lame half-arsed crap which is doomed to failure. If there is a demand for Australian content, the networks will deliver – it’s as simple as that.

  4. Good thing. More aussie shows should be made. Lets get these aussie actors working, and not having to go to america to get work which will be shown here anyway…

  6. Cartone – def not happy with this at all & if thats what they are doing then it needs to be stopped.
    Aussie tv is shows filmed in Aussie period – for so long thou NZ shows havent been seen in Australia when neighbours, Home & Away, City Homicide are all screened in NZ – a balance is def needed.
    Its good to see more NZ shows on air, I hope that continues & I hope we get plenty more Aussie stuff too.

  9. Yeh i agree, if they watch our shows, it’s only fair to return the favour.

    To add, I actually don’t mind the NZ police and border patrol shows, and they often make me wonder why Australia doesn’t make more like them.

  10. But Leo, are you happy with the practice of passing off something made in New Zealand as Australian Content? That’s exactly what is happening now. The networks are showing a NZ-made TV show and submitting it to whichever governing body oversees the locally-made content ruling as an Australian program. I thought Kiwis had more self-pride than to let Australia claim a Kiwi product as its own ;-). Keep showing the quality NZ stuff, yes, but make more quality Aussie shows, too, please!

  11. I’m happy to continue watching NZ shows, as long as there is a balance I don’t see the problem. I think we’ve had more local content shown in the last year than we have for a while, so why not have some NZ shows in the mix too?

    And I can’t for the life of me understand why we no longer see Shortland Street here, even Foxtel had a go at showing it a few years back now (on UKTV of all places!). It would be great to see it return to a 6 or 6.30 timeslot on one of the FTA stations.

  13. As a kiwi living in Melbourne (for the past 8 years I may add), it’s about time that NZ made shows are on tv here.
    For years NZ has been flooded by Australian made shows but very rarely is NZ shows screened here – hardly fair is it!
    NZ made shows are often very good & rate very well in NZ – Shortland St has been going for years in NZ but doesnt even screen here (hello Foxtel).
    Shows like Outrageous Fortune, Burying Brian & The Jackie Brown Diaries are the best shows I have seen in years – all from NZ.
    If this ruling means that NZ tv is included then Im all for it – because a lot of the shows are of international standard & deserve an audience, just like our Aussie shows!

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