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Lobbyists for Australian film and television producers are calling for rule changes after TV broadcasters there have picked up an unprecedented number of New Zealand-made programmes.
The previous Howard Government allowed New Zealand-made to be counted toward the networks' Australian content quota requirement, which obliges broadcasters to devote at least 55 per cent of their programming to locally-made shows.
Screen Producers Association of Australia executive director Geoff Brown told The Sydney Morning Herald networks are running comparatively cheap New Zealand imports instead of making more expensive Australian-made programmes.
"They are trying to reduce their costs and maintain their quotas by screening material from New Zealand," he said. "For every hour of New Zealand programming that goes to air, that's an hour of Australian programming that doesn't."
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 20 per cent of its Australian drama content quota with New Zealand programmes," 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."
The Screen Producers Association will meet Federal Government representatives in Canberra next month to discuss overhauling the regulations.
New Zealand-made programmes 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. Channel 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 today.
Other New Zealand productions recently aired in Australia include Outrageous Fortune, the animated comedy Bro'Town, school satire Seven Periods With Mr Gormsby and factual series SCU: Serious Crash Unit.
Jane Wrightson, the chief executive of New Zealand On Air, said it was about time New Zealand programmes featured on the other side of the Tasman.
"We have screened a huge number of Australian TV shows here over the years and they have been very much enjoyed," she said. "But the reverse has not always been so. To have this number of New Zealand-made TV shows airing in Australia is a new occurrence.
More than 800,000 Australian viewers watched Wild Vets and Coastwatch last Tuesday night, while Police Ten 7 has drawn up to a million viewers.
"Our factual programmes in particular tend to translate well," Ms Wrightson said. "And yet, there is so little New Zealand content on air in Australia compared with American content."
Ms Wrightson argued that New Zealand programming is more compatible with Australian viewers than American television shows.
"I know the Australian producers can get a bit twitchy about this but I don't think it's a matter of New Zealand content supplanting Australian content," she told the newspaper. "I think it's more a case of New Zealand content supplanting American content."
- NZPA
