The saga of Sir Peter Jackson's Great War Exhibition in Wellington shows the danger of well-intentioned collaborations between the Government and the private sector which face too little official scrutiny. Taxpayers will have to provide $12.7 million to restore the Dominion Building to its original state and to the satisfaction of its owner, Massey University, after the temporary exhibition wraps up on December 2.
Its signature display was a painstaking recreation of Quinn's Post on Anzac Cove built by Jackson and his film-making companies. Many visitors have raved about the quality of the exhibit, which aims to give visitors the feeling of being in the trenches at Gallipoli amid the stench of death and the flying bullets. It seems Jackson, with his customary attention to detail and flair, achieved that aim admirably. It's far less clear whether the delays involved meant taxpayers received a fair return on their investment - especially since most will have no realistic chance of visiting the exhibition.
The exhibition must have seemed like a good idea at the time. Jackson is a passionate World War I buff with a proven record of creating realistic and entertaining depictions of other times and places in blockbuster films. Ministers and officials were looking for the wow factor that would lift public interest in the centenary and the Lord of the Rings director was keen to help. However from that point on the usual checks and balances that would apply to any other project seem to have been lacking.
Former Arts, Culture and Heritage minister Chris Finlayson has admitted that he, Jackson and former Prime Minister John Key were all keen to make the exhibition permanent. But as historian Dr Stephen Clarke, who is also former chief executive of the Returned Services Association, warned officials, the temporary exhibition revealed some obvious pitfalls over that plan. Perhaps in the end taxpayers should be relieved to have got off relatively lightly.
