A debate on a proposal to pull out of the Pinewood film deal ended in farce - when the mover was unable to withdraw her own motion.
Lib Van leader Kate Beecroft (Douglas South) had proposed a motion that Tynwald should be of the opinion that no further investment in the film industry should be made using the Media Development Fund.
Mrs Beecroft described the performance of the Fund as ‘staggeringly bad’ and there could really be ‘no excuse for continuing with this farce’.
She pointed out that an annual management fee of £365,000 - a £1,000 a day - was being paid to Pinewood Film Advisors, who in turn then pay Gasworks Media £336,000, to produce a return on investment of just 0.16 per cent.
‘It would be better putting it all on red in the casino - at least we would get the gambling duty on it then,’ she remarked.
Acting Attorney General John Quinn said that supporting her motion could create a potential liability to Tynwald. Even if Treasury told Pinewood that it didn’t want further film investments brought forward for consideration, it would still have to pay the management fee for the rest of the five year term – and there was also a risk Pinewood could sue for potential loss of future income, he explained.
Treasury Minister Eddie Teare said it could have an effect on the island’s reputation in the international community as a reputable and reliable business partner. ‘This is not just about investment and returns - it’s about the way the Isle of Man does business,’ he said.
Ramsey MHK Leonard Singer said Mrs Beecroft was asking for Treasury to renege on a legally-binding contract that had been overwhelmingly backed by Tynwald. ‘It’s anti-business madness,’ he said.
Alfred Cannan (Michael) said he supported a lot of what Mrs Beecroft said but added: ‘We have to honour our commitments.’
He suggested one reason the Manx film industry has not seen a lot of action was because of 25 per cent tax relief introduced in the UK.
Mrs Beecroft subsequently said she wished to withdraw her motion ‘now that the true situation of everything has been revealed’. She insisted she wasn’t embarrassed at bringing her motion.
But Tynwald had other ideas. Members threw out her request to withdraw the motion by 22 votes to 10. The motion itself was then put to the vote - and was unanimously rejected.