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Dora the Explorer movie to be made in Queensland

<i>Dora the Explorer</i> will be filmed in Queensland after the state government stumped up the extra cash needed to keep it in Australia.

Dora the Explorer will be filmed in Queensland after the state government stumped up the extra cash needed to keep it in Australia.

Dora the Explorer will be filmed in Queensland after the state government agreed to cough up the extra cash needed to keep the production on Australian soil.

But Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has come under fire for refusing to say how much taxpayer money she spent to secure the live-action blockbuster.

Ms Palaszczuk on Sunday said the state would top up the federal government’s tax concession to Hollywood film studio Paramount.

It followed federal Treasurer Scott Morrison’s decision on Friday to reject the company’s request for a one-off increase from the standard 16.5 to 30 per cent.

Paramount was asked to extend its deadline by 48 hours so the state government could find the extra money.

It will now chip in the 13.5 per cent difference, but Ms Palaszczuk has refused to say how much that is.

“That’s commercial in confidence,” she said on Sunday.

Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington would not be drawn on whether she supported the film being produced in Queensland.

“We don’t know what Queensland has spent getting this, so we don’t know what Queensland’s going to get out of it,” she said.

“The question remains to the premier: How much has she spent?”

Annastacia Palaszczuk

Annastacia Palaszczuk confirms the movie will be filmed in the Sunshine State – but refused to divulge how much Queensland spent on keeping it. Photo: AAP

Ms Palaszczuk said the actual dollar amount would remain confidential until filming finished.

But she did confirm some of the money was sourced from a $20 million fund the government established in 2017 to attract more blockbuster films to the state.

The rest came from a Commonwealth Games legacy fund.

Ms Palaszczuk said the state could not continue to make up the difference for other films and the federal government needed to act.

“We have the $20 million industry attraction fund and when that money runs out, that money runs out,” she said.

“If the federal government increases their tax offset from 16.5 per cent to 30 per cent, we’re not going to have any of these issues into the future.”

Ms Palaszczuk said movie producers wanted to film in Australia but its tax concessions needed to be competitive with the rest of the world.

Ms Frecklington said her coalition colleagues had already spent more money than the state to get Dora the Explorer made in Queensland.

She accused the Premier of distracting voters with talk of the movie rather than addressing issues like train problems in the lead-up to the Commonwealth Games.

Ms Frecklington said if the Premier was serious about jobs on the Gold Coast, she would look at proposals like that from her own party for a second M1.

Filming of the Dora the Explorer movie is expected to start on the Gold Coast after the Commonwealth Games.

-AAP

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