I was going to begin this article by pointing out that despite the astounding panic from a gullible media and nervous politicians, it was quite obvious from the outset that The Hobbit production was never going to move offshore. I was also going to outline the logical reasons why, including mentioning the fact that a certain movie director prefers working and living in New Zealand and also part owns the local special effects shop that will do the really high value work on the film, regardless of where it is shot.

I may have even mentioned that irrespective of our reputation as producer of incredible feature films, very few New Zealand based actors, set builders and film crews actually make a full-time living in the industry. I might even have been tempted to question why a single film project receives a $90 million plus taxpayer funded handout when our ICT industry that contributes $20 billion to GDP annually (including $2 billion in exports and thousands of real jobs) does not.

I’m not going to dwell on these things at all. That would be most uncharitable. In fact I’m going to give thanks that a large American corporation has pointed out to our government the error of its ways, thus facilitating fast track legislation that will assist said corporation to maximise its profits in the future. I’m so relieved the Hobbit crisis is resolved. It means we can return to focusing on other really important, game-changing economic reform projects like building cycleways and selling beer to rugby tourists.