Alliance/Equity (MEAA) E-Mag 13-SEP-2006 - It's All Good!

Welcome to your weekly e-bulletin from the Alliance. This week:

- Agreement With Warner Bros US - Submission to NSW Draft State Plan
- Strong Audiences For Doco - Checkpoint Wins Jury Prize - NZ Equity / Members Join Up
- ABC Ballot - Fewer Voices, Fewer Choices Campaign - Equity Graduate Days

Agreement With Warner Bros US - An in principle agreement has been reached between the US studio Warner Bros and the Alliance for all offshore feature film production in Australia. Warner produced The Matrix and Superman and its upcoming productions include Where The Wild Things Are and Fools Gold. The agreement will be put to the next National Performers Committee meeting for ratification. The agreement includes all the usual provisions for offshore feature film production including SAG equivalent rates and SAG equivalent residuals. Until now each production has required a separate agreement and negotiation. This agreement provides more certainty for performers with respect to the entire Warners slate of production.

Submission to NSW Draft State Plan - The Alliance has made a submission to the NSW Government's Draft State Plan making the case that the Government should be supporting creative industries and performers with initiatives such as payroll tax concessions for producers and improved regulations governing agents. A copy of the submission can be found at: www.alliance.org.au/docman/task,doc_download/gid,307/Itemid,28/ <http://www.alliance.org.au/docman/task,doc_download/gid,307/Itemid,28/> <http://www.alliance.org.au/docman/task,cat_view/gid,117/Itemid,28/>

Strong Audiences For Doco - The documentary Who Killed Dr Bogle & Mrs Chandler? starring Rhys Muldoon, Octavia Barron-Martin and Nicholas Hope screened on the ABC on September 8 to an audience of 1.8 million viewers making it Film Australia's highest ever rating broadcast program. Film Australia CEO Daryl Karp welcomed the outstanding results saying quality documentaries were winning increasing Australian audiences.

Checkpoint Wins Jury Prize - Checkpoint, a confronting film about racism against a Lebanese-Australian family has won the jury prize in the short film category at the prestigious World Film Festival in Montreal, Canada. The film starring Kate Raison, Rodney Afif, Christian Willis, Alex Dimitriades, Brett Stiller and Casey Burgess is now in the running for next year's Academy Awards.

NZ Equity - Membership forms have started arriving to the New Zealand office following last week's mail out to former NDU members. If you still have not received a membership form, please contact Teresa Brown on 09 360 1980. Also, welcome on board to the graduating Unitec students that joined last week. NZ Performers Committees: Last week saw the second meeting of the Wellington performers committee and the first meeting of the Auckland performers committee. If you would like to be involved, please contact the Equity NZ office on 09 360 1980 or e-mail teresa.brown@alliance.org.au <mailto:teresa.brown@alliance.org.au>

ABC Ballot - Alliance members working at the ABC have voted 90% in favour of taking protected industrial action for a new collective agreement. The ballot had to be administered by the Australian Electoral Commission under the new industrial relations regime. There was a 70% return of ballot papers in the vote. This is the first Alliance ballot under the new industrial relations laws and the first by any union that covers people who work in more than one site.

Fewer Voices, Fewer Choices Campaign - The Alliance campaign against the Federal Government's plan to abandon the cross media and foreign ownership restrictions is underway. The government's laws would permit giant media corporations to dominate the broadcast, print and digital media landscape. Vote in the poll at the campaign website: www.xmedia.org.au <http://www.xmedia.org.au>

Equity Graduate Days - Experienced performers, agents and financial advisers will impart their knowledge. Free event with lunch and afternoon tea provided, followed by industry drinks. Queensland - September 29, NSW - October 20, Victoria - November 13. Details: alison.aprhys@alliance.org.au <mailto:alison.aprhys@alliance.org.au> 1300 65 65 13.