BUDGET 2020 - 'REBUILDING TOGETHER'
Thursday 14 May 2020Finance Minister Grant Robertson has released BUDGET 2020 - 'Rebuilding Together'
The following summary identifies the aspects of the budget most relevant to the New Zealand screen sector as announced on 14th May 2020. Further announcements for Arts and Media are due in the coming days.
COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund
The Budget formally establishes a $50 billion COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund (CRRF). This fund builds on the $12.1 billion package outlined above to progress further measures and address COVID-19
related spending. As at 20 April we have already committed $10.7 billion through the CRRF, including
• $6.9 billion to extend the Wage Subsidy Scheme beyond the initial funding announced on 17 March
• a Business Tax Relief Package of $1.9 billion
• $186 million across the education sector, to support distance learning and help students
continue their studies during lockdown, and
• a number of other packages to support the short-term response of the health, aviation and
social sectors.
Arts and Culture ($246.8 million operating total and $37.5 million total capital)
Budget 2020 reaffirms this Government's commitment to supporting arts and culture in New Zealand, ensuring that funding is available to preserve our nation's taonga (treasure), celebrate its diversity and history and promote creativity. The package provides support for the local film industry and culturally significant historical collections, as well as ensuring the accessibility of public media platforms to diverse audiences, such as New Zealanders with hearing impairments and those from our Pacific communities.
Key initiatives in this area include:
- Saving the Crown's Audio-visual Collections ($5.3 million operating total and $26.6 million total capital). The Crown's audio-visual heritage content, including a diverse range of broadcast news, documentaries, films, music and oral histories, is stored in at-risk formats. The collection captures the issues and experiences of New Zealanders through the decades, unique cultural events and defining moments in our nation's history. This initiative provides funding to ensure the preservation of this taonga for future generations.
- Sustaining Crucial Public Media Platforms ($25 million operating total). This initiative provides funding to support the work of public media platforms that deliver content to under-served audiences. This funding will support the sustainability of the Pacific Media Network (PMN), disability media (captioning and audio descriptions) and community access radio stations, helping ensure that all New Zealanders have access to vital media content.
Meet Demand for the New Zealand Screen Production Grant
This initiative will meet increased demand from eligible New Zealand productions, in line with the demand-driven New Zealand Screen Production Grant – New Zealand. Together with the New Zealand Screen Production Grant – International (for which
MBIE is responsible), these grants promote industry development and cultural benefits for New Zealand.
Vol.10 Arts, Culture and Heritage
Estimates Vote 2019/20 2020/21
$15.000,000 $45.000,000
Ongoing Operation of the New Zealand Screen Production Grant – International
This initiative provides funding for the ongoing operation of the New Zealand Screen Production Grant – International. This grant is a rebate on expenditure undertaken in New Zealand, subject to specific criteria. The fiscal cost of the grant fluctuates in response to the level of international screen production activity. Growing global demand for screen content, coupled with the favourable reputation as a screen production destination, is leading to rising levels of production activity in New Zealand. The current level of funding has proven to be insufficient to meet this growth in activity. This initiative will provide additional funding to cover the anticipated call on the grant in the final year of the Multi-Year Appropriation.
Vol.1 Business, Science and Innovation
Estimates Vote 2019/20 2020/21
$6.000,000 $140.000,000
You can READ THE FULL BUDGET HERE.