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Radioactive IT Aussie government missing chance to bolster Games industry
Radioactive IT Aussie government missing chance to bolster Games industry | Aussie government missing chance to bolster Games industry |
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| by Mike Bantick | |
| Friday, 05 October 2007 | |
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Worth around AU$110 million per year, the Australian games development industry is a significant contributor to the wealth of this nation. And it is growing, some 12.3 percent per annum. At the same time, it is beginning to struggle. Not through lack of work, most of the 8,500 Australians employed in the Video game industry are working on significant projects, providing local and overseas major studios the kind of technology, talent and follow-the-sun development that is expected in this high profile industry. Simple resourcing is the first hurdle. The Australian struggles to attract much of its employee base locally. Though there has been an increase in the number of tertiary courses aimed at the production of video game products, the recruitment of talent continues to be of concern. Recently the Game Developers Association of Australia (GDAA) lobbied the government to extend rebates of 40 percent enjoyed by Australian film bodies to Game development studios. Not an illogical request given the relative importance of the industries. CEO of the GDAA Greg Bondar summed up the situation, “As we keep saying, the electronic games industry is already a significant contributor to the Australian economy. It’s also part of a larger global entertainment industry, which is now bigger than the film industry and is a major area of export for the Australian economy.” “Unfortunately, the future growth of the industry is fundamentally dependent on government support. A government rebate will enable our industry to grow, compete on a global scale, employ more Australian talent and make a bigger contribution to our economy.” “We are continually encountering situations where large scale projects are being awarded to game development companies overseas as they’re able to provide a rebate incentive for companies in the game, film and entertainment industries to employ their services. Without the same sort of ‘carrot’ to dangle in their faces, we find that an enormous amount of business is being lost,” he added. In response to this lobbying the Hon Helen Coonan, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts and Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate had this to say; ‘the Screen Media Support Package announced in the Budget has the potential to benefit screen content producers of all kinds. While games will not be eligible for the tax offsets announced as part of the Package, the introduction of a Location Offset is expected to have positive indirect flow-on effects for screen businesses, as digital and visual companies develop larger and more skilled workforces.’ Effectively dismissing the GDAA’s request in one sweeping and seemingly ignorant sentence. Bondar gives a measured view of the ministers response; “We have been trying to bring our situation to the attention of Federal Government for a long time now and this sort of response is disheartening to say the least. The Minister is not offering anything tangible to our industry.” “We have advised government that based on our current industry standing and projected earnings, we conservatively estimate that if they were to extend a 40% rebate to the game development industry in Australia it would lead to an additional $25 million in new investment into original Australian titles each year.” “With the potential for our industry to generate so much more income for the economy, employ more people and put Australia on the map as a hub of leading edge game development, we are dumbfounded as to the government’s backhanded, empty response to our call for a rebate.” What can you do to help the Minister build a clearer view of the Australian Electronic game industry needs? See page two. |
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