Govt defends $45m Avatar spend

The Government has defended the scheme which saw blockbuster film Avatar get nearly $45 million in taxpayer money.

Avatar recently won big at the Golden Globe awards and is on track to be the biggest grossing movie of all time, having sold more than $1.6 billion of tax credits.

Much of the digital post-production work was done in New Zealand via Weta Digital, and the makers received $44.69 million from the Large Budget Screen Production Grant (LBSPG).

This earned the wrath of Green Party co-leader Russel Norman, who said the grant was "excessive" and that the subsidy should be capped.

But Economic Development Minister Gerry Brownlee said today the grant delivered more than $307 million in expenditure to the New Zealand economy.

"Attracting large budget film productions here offers wider benefits to the economy, including increased opportunities for New Zealanders as well as tourism benefits from having New Zealand locations shown to an international audience," he said.

"Avatar has set a new standard for visual effects and this showcases our capability in what is a high value, high technology sector of our economy."

The LBSPG offers a 15 per cent rebate on production expenditure over a certain value within New Zealand.

Mr Brownlee said that since the scheme was begun under the previous government in 2003, overseas movie and television productions had spent more than $1.42 billion in New Zealand, which resulted in grant payments of $189.4 million.

He said it was unlikely these productions would have decided to have come to New Zealand if the grant was not available as most countries offered incentives of some sort.

"New Zealand's connection to the success of Avatar will continue to deliver huge benefits to the country and will help to attract more large budget productions here in the future."

The film includes a thank-you to the New Zealand Government in its credits.

Other films to have received grants in the year to June 30 2009 were Wolverine, Jumper, The Day the Earth Stood Still, They Came From Upstairs, Underworld 3 and Prince Caspian, as well as the latest in the Power Rangers television series.

Others to have received grants in the past included King Kong and The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe.

- NZPA