New Zealand government documents released today show that Hollywood studios and Hobbit director Sir Peter Jackson heavily pushed to have employment law changed to benefit producers, and the government caved, according to Radio New Zealand.
Council of Trade Unions president Helen Kelly said today she wants to know why the government reversed its position and altered the law in just a day in response to the Hobbit dispute. The new law altered actors and crew from being employees to independent contractors.
“There’s a very important document which shows that their assessment was that there didn’t need to be to get the films made here and provide security any change to either the Commerce Act of the Employment Relations Act,” Kelly said.
Kelly said the papers reveal Jackson and government ministers knew the union blacklisting of the Hobbit films was being lifted, but at the time denied it.
