Dora drama a Qld govt smokescreen, LNP

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has been accused of using the Dora The Explorer movie drama as a smokescreen.

Annastacia Palaszczuk holds a letter from Scott Morrison.

Queensland will stump up the cash needed to keep filming for Dora the Explorer in the state. (AAP)

Queensland's Liberal National Party is accusing the government of manufacturing a drama over securing the production of the Dora the Explorer movie.

The Palaszczuk Labor government has dipped in further than they wanted to by topping up the federal government's tax concession to Hollywood studio Paramount so it could produce the live-action film in the sunshine state.

It followed federal Treasurer Scott Morrison's decision on Friday to reject the company's request for a one-off increase from the standard 16.5 to 30 per cent.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk had been speaking publicly about the deal for a week and spruiked the decision on Sunday as a win for her government.

But she refused to confirm how much would be spent to lure the production to Queensland, claiming Commercial in Confidence rules.

Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington claimed on Monday the premier always intended to pay the extra money, and used the issue as a smokescreen to take attention away from under-fire minister Mark Bailey's use of a private email account.

"The premier is trying to use this as a distraction for a failing minister," Ms Frecklington told reporters on Monday.

"We've got a premier who won't release 600 emails from this minister, I mean she needs to be up front and honest with the people of Queensland."

The LNP leader once again called for Mr Bailey to be sacked.

Ms Palaszczuk said the cost would be released after the filming of the movie on the Gold Coast had wrapped.

She also confirmed the money was jointly sourced from a $20 million fund designed to attract more blockbuster films to the state and a Commonwealth Games legacy fund.


Share

2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world