WA screen industry workers call on government to enforce 'buy local' policy

Australia Broadcast Center

04-07-2025

Tourism WA is working on the next phase of its push to sell the state as a premium holiday destination, but an east coast-based director and production company will be used for part of the work.
Mark Braddock, a board member of IN:WA, which represents 40 creative production companies in the state, says it is always frustrating when local firms miss out on state government work.
"For us, it's all about keeping taxpayers' money in the state and building out a production ecosystem that allows the state to service the government's policy commitments through Diversify WA and their buy local policy, and the investment they're making in Creative WA strategy," he said.
Mr Braddock said the government was making a big investment in new film studios in Malaga, but private commercial work such as government ad campaigns was vital to sustain the local workforce.
"At the moment, our local production companies are really struggling," he said.
"[WA government agencies] are the biggest client for us in the state.
A state government spokesperson said local company The Brand Agency had been chosen to lead the development and production of the Tourism WA campaign.
The firm assessed more than 50 suppliers, including ones from WA, for their experience and ability to deliver value for money for the taxpayer-funded campaign.
"Unfortunately, while a local production company and director were shortlisted, the cost identified was prohibitively higher than the chosen option," the spokesperson told ABC Radio Perth.
But Premier Roger Cook acknowledged the screen industry's concerns and said he was disappointed a local production company was not selected.
"We know that in WA we've got some great production crews and I'm sure that work could have been undertaken in Western Australia," he said.
"I can't see a need to export that sort of work."
Mr Cook's support was welcomed by Perth-based camera assistant Arthur Bienkowski, who has worked as a camera assistant for 15 years.
Mr Bienkowski said he had regularly seen WA workers miss out and that he would like to see the state government's "buy local" policy more strictly enforced.
"There are good productions where they do engage locals and they try their hardest to support the local industry," he said.
"And it's cost-effective for them to do so — historically, our rates are actually a lot lower than on the east coast, and yet our proficiency is quite high.
"Then there's others where they maybe take the easy route and employ someone they know and work with all the time rather than taking a risk on someone they don't from here.
Mr Bienkowski recently finished work on a Bruce Beresford film called The Travellers that was shot entirely in Western Australia and said the feedback for the local production workers was positive.
"They used as many locals as they possibly could," he said.
"Towards the end of the shoot Bruce Beresford and his longtime cinematographer Peter James, who was my direct boss on that job, said that the local crew were as good as any crew they've ever worked with, and they used the words 'world class.'"
Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance representative John Fairhead said the union had been advocating for more stringent employment requirements on government projects for years.
"Historically the TVC [television commercial] sector is what has kept us going," he said.
"TVCs support freelancers in between long-form productions."
Mr Bienkowski said working on TV commercials also supported the professional development of film crews, which would be needed for the expected expansion of the sector.
Perth Film Studios, which have been financed by the state government at a cost of more than $200 million, are expected to open at Malaga next year and create hundreds of jobs.
"It's a no-brainer if you're the state government — [TV ad campaigns] should be going back into the industry here," Mr Bienkowski said.
The Brand Agency declined a request to comment.