Roimata Macgregor: Auckland on brink of producing blockbuster - or flop

Photo / Richard Robinson

Auckland is at a crossroads as the structure of the new Super City is finalised, shaping the region's future for decades to come.

Many submissions to the select committee on Auckland governance have focused on issues such as the mostly rural regions, Maori representation and numbers of councillors.

But another issue is of vital importance to Auckland's economy - the new Auckland Council will have the ability to either build on our screen production industry's success or risk losing all the economic benefits it brings.

Not many Aucklanders are aware of just how economically important this industry is. Last year it brought $878 million of revenue to Auckland, supporting 1212 companies and around 2500 people.

Auckland has had this success even while facing the considerable challenge of having seven territorial authorities and one regional council. This has been a challenge because of the practicalities of gaining the necessary consents for a film project. Not only do charges differ between all eight authorities, so do the rules.

Add in the personal interpretations of individual local authority bureaucrats, as well as the requirements of other bodies, such as Transit NZ, the Civil Aviation Authority and Auckland Regional Transport Authority, and sometimes it's a miracle we manage to get anything done at all.

Because of this complexity, Film Auckland worked with the Boffa Miskell environmental planning and design consultancy to produce the Green Book. It outlines all the rules that can affect filming across the region.

Finally able to find a comprehensive guide, producers, directors and production houses started downloading it as soon as they could. On the first day it was on Film Auckland's website, it was downloaded 50 times. Within a week, 120 times.

This shows that the industry, despite the complexities, has continued to choose the region's diverse locations for films, television shows and commercials.

The screen industry worldwide is very simple - if producers and directors feel they have had a good experience, or will have a good experience, they will come back. If not, they won't. Word spreads fast and perception is reality.

Imagine how fast word would spread if the Super City decided to streamline processes and ensure rules were easy to follow, and screen production companies were made to feel truly welcome.

How big would that $878 million gross revenue grow if word spread that the new local authority was committed to saying "yes" unless there was a good reason to say "no"?

How many more people would be employed in this industry, and how much would Auckland's international profile grow?

This is the exciting possibility the new city councillors will face. If they understand the needs of the film industry and the benefits it brings, the prize is there for the taking.

But if the new authority doesn't grasp this opportunity to sweep away the restrictive processes, all that the film industry has achieved so far could be in danger.

You don't have to look far to find out what happens when the film industry loses faith in a location.

In February last year, under the headline "It's too expensive to shoot in Sydney", entertainment website TimeOut Sydney published the following comments from Sydney filmmakers: "NSW is not a favourable place for the arts because of the boofheads running the place. I haven't done anything in Sydney for nine years and we have nothing planned." (John Maynard, producer, Sweetie, The Boys, Romulus My Father.)

"The problem with Sydney is the State Government and local councils. It's too expensive to shoot here. When we shot The Monkey's Mask I wrote the then-mayor Frank Sartor because the parking fees alone for that film came to $50,000." (Robert Connelly, producer, writer, director, The Bank, The Boys, Three Dollars, Romulus My Father.)

Producers had felt that way for several years, depriving Sydney of revenue that was going to other cities.

Last year the New South Wales Government realised the error of its and its local authorities' ways. So this March new rules about local authority consent for film projects were enacted.

Among them were rules that local councils and government agencies must approve film projects unless there are compelling reasons not to.

There is a presumption that filming is permitted on community land, unless the management plan specifically excludes it, subject to environmental needs.

Fees for location filming are restricted to cost recovery and rules about parking filming vehicles for extended periods have been relaxed. There has been a lot of buzz in the international film industry about the improvements.

Film Auckland hopes for a similar buzz when the industry realises how streamlined processes have become in this city under the new local authority. If that buzz occurs on top of the already favourable reputation the city has for scenery, world-class companies and crews and culturally diverse and friendly citizens, it can only be positive for the entire region.

* Roimata Macgregor is the chair of Film Auckland.