Coronavirus Gold Coast: Local business ineligible for support from Morrison measures

A Gold Coast business which stood alongside Prime Minister Scott Morrison as he announced a $400 million rescue package is pleading for help, saying they have been “left for dead’.

A GOLD Coast business which stood alongside Prime Minister Scott Morrison as he announced a $400 million rescue package is pleading for help, saying they’ve been “left for dead’.

Molendinar-based audio visual equipment company Creative Productions met Mr Morrison when he visited the Gold Coast on July 17 to announce an arts industry funding boost.

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Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison visited the Gold Coast in July to talk up funding for the film industry. Picture: Darren England

But now the company has discovered it is not eligible for any of the support schemes, something its chief financial officer says has left them “out in the cold”.

Creative Productions CFO Stephen Knight has sent Mr Morrison a two-page letter asking for help and saying the industry has been “left for dead”.

“Right now we have very little support to keep going. The entire industry is being left for dead. If this continues, at the end of this pandemic you will have no production companies left to actually stage any events,” he said.

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Prime Minister Scott Morrison meeting with Dave Jackson from Creative Productions Australia at Molendinar last month. Picture: Richard Gosling

“We are an industry that has time and time again come to the support of every disaster. We have been left out in the cold with nothing. I would appreciate some consideration on helping us and not allowing these businesses to simply disappear.

“I believe you have done a great job at leading the country through this trying time. I just don’t know if you are aware that our industry is simply dead right now.

“I can see you understand the airline industry is shattered as is tourism. Our industry is the same. I know it will return, there is no question. We just want to be there when it does.”

A spokesman for Mr Morrison said the government “understands and has seen first-hand how tough businesses like Creative Productions are doing it right now.”

Mr Morrison and fellow MPs at Creative Productions’ Molendinar headquarters in July. Picture: Richard Gosling.

“We know the enormous challenges facing so many businesses like Creative Productions and we’ll continue to work closely with every sector and deliver further support as needed,” the spokesman said.

The Prime Minister’s office is expected to contact Creative Productions on Monday to discuss options.

When visiting Creative Productions in July, Mr Morrison said the film industry would play a major role in the nation’s recovery from COVID-19.

Gold Coast-based Senator Murray Watt said the Coalition had “pulled the rug out” from underneath the company’s feet.

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“First they backed out of a deal to provide financial support to our theme parks. Now they’re stiffing Gold Coast production companies and putting local jobs at risk,” he said.

“This is classic Scotty from marketing – use a business to make an announcement and then tell them they’re not eligible. It’s downright insulting.

“Film production in Queensland isn’t a small matter. It’s a billion dollar industry that employs over 10,000 people, many of them based here on the Gold Coast.”