Can they seal the deal? Govt begins Hobbit law hustle

The Government will put a bill through Parliament under urgency today to seal the deal that has ensured the $670 million Hobbit movies will be filmed in New Zealand.

Labour and Green MPs have already made aggressive noises about the legislation. 

On the Red Alert blog, Trevor Mallard indicated his party may take some convincing.

"It’s good The Hobbit will be made here," wrote the Labour MP. 

"But it’s at a hefty price that will cost all New Zealanders, especially those whose employment depends on contracts and work in or close to the film industry.

Last night, Mr Mallard added that it appeared Mr Key had been "screwed" by Warner.

Labour was likely to oppose the legislation, the opposition MP said.

"Banana republic"
One member of the press gallery, on Twitter, had Mr Mallard going even further, complaining "It makes us look like a banana republic," while Greens co-leader Russel Norman was quoted as saying, "We're going to prostitute our industrial law."

Council of Trade Unions (CTU) president Helen Kelly said no-one would resent The Hobbit films being made here, but the cost was "outrageous".

"That a foreign corporation can come into this country and demand that workers' rights in this industry be removed -- and that's effectively what's going to happen today under urgency,"Ms Kelly said.

Unions had given an assurance to Warner Bros that there wouldn't be disruptions to filming, but that had been undermined by Mr Key.

"He actually knows it's genuine and knows that we are capable of keeping that assurance, but regardless, the change in law is unrelated and a Government which has a systematic record of removing worker rights has added this to their pile of things they want to change," Ms Kelly said.

In the bag
But regardless of opposition jibes, it looks like the prime minister has the law change in the bag.

With 58 MPs in our 122 seat Parliament, National only needs the support of Act to push the change through - and Act as already indicated it will support the Hobbit law, as has United's sole MP, Peter Dunne.

Presumably for the sake of consensus, Prime Minister John Key has also reached out to the Maori Party on the issue.

Mr Key said he would also talk to Labour.

Clearly, the prime minister doesn't just want to win the vote - he's also trying to close down the "banana republic" debate by building a cross-party consensus. 

Labour law was Warners' biggest issue
Mr Key said the labour law change was the most important issue for Warner Brothers, because the legal definitions of a contractor and an employee could have caused disputes and court cases that would have held up production and cost the studio many millions.

The change will cover only the movie industry.

"We're not taking rights away from workers," Mr Key said.

"This is commercial reality. Without it these movies wouldn't be made in New Zealand."

Mr Key said he had the support of the Act Party and United Future for a majority in Parliament to get the bill through, and would be talking to Labour and the Maori Party.

Labour MP Trevor Mallard said his party wanted to see the bill before making a final decision about whether to support or oppose it.

He felt Labour would "almost certainly" vote against the bill but it was possible the Government had found a formula that was acceptable.

Greens co-leader Russel Norman said his party wanted the movies made in New Zealand but also believed it was critical that the principles of a parliamentary democracy were not sacrificed.

"We think it is totally unacceptable that Parliament will be meeting under urgency basically to do the bidding of Warner Brothers," he told NZPA.

"That isn't why we fought world wars, it's not why we protect fundamental principles of our society."

He said he had not seen the bill, but if it weakened the laws around independent contractors and had been written by Warner Brothers lawyers, the Greens would vote against it.