12. Question No. 12—Digital Economy and CommunicationsGLEN BENNETT (Labour—New Plymouth) to the Minister for the Digital Economy and CommunicationsQuestion No. 12—Digital Economy and Communications12. GLEN BENNETT (Labour—New Plymouth) to the Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications: What progress has been made on the Game Development Sector Rebate?Hon GINNY ANDERSEN (Minister for the Digital Economy and Communications): This Government and the game development sector are gearing up to roll out the support of the announcement from Budget 2023. The Government is providing certainty to the growing and important game development sector with a $40 million per annum funding boost through the Budget. We're now shifting focus into delivering that scheme. Consultation on the scheme's design opened last week and closes on 6 July with the scheme's outline expected to be announced by October and successful applicants receiving year 1 funding in mid-2024. I've also announced that NZ On Air has been selected to administer the scheme. It has considerable experience in administering contestable funds and has developed a good relationship with the game development sector.Glen Bennett: What support will the rebate provide the game development sector?Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: There will be good support in place for the gaming development sector. The scheme will provide a 20 percent rebate that is designed to help grow and retain game studios here in New Zealand up to $40 million a year across the industry. Studios that meet that threshold will be able to receive up to $3 million a year in rebate funding. The scheme will be backdated to 1 April of this year meaning that businesses will already be able to receive support. It will offer huge potential for our young people entering into the sector. I've been thrilled to see the strong responses from the game development sector to this investment and hear that this will enable them to grow further and contribute to our economy.Glen Bennett: What are the main design features in the consultation document?Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: The Government is proposing the rebate will apply to eligible expenditure on digital games that are intended for public release for entertainment or educational purposes. Eligible expenditure would include expenditure related to developing and commercialising digital games research and game design including adaptation to new platforms. Over the past few years the Government has been working very closely alongside the gaming development sector as one of the key focus areas in the digital industry transformation plan. This consultation is yet another step in this process and I want to get good feedback from the sector on the detailed design of the new scheme so it sets us up for success.Glen Bennett: How important is the game development sector to New Zealand's economy?Hon GINNY ANDERSEN: Really important. New Zealand's game development sector is a small but fast-growing part of our tech sector bringing in $400 million in revenue in 2022. Our firms enjoy international success—around 96 percent of the sector's output is exported. The digital economy and the digital technology sector contributed $7 billion in GDP in 2021 and since 2016 it has grown at twice the annual rate of the economy. As a Government we are committed to making the best investments for the future of the economy and the game development sector rebate will help build the New Zealand we want for the future. That's a high wage low emissions economy and one that has high skills innovation resilience and sustainability. I'm looking forward to seeing the scheme progress and achieve the Government's ambitions of a promising new sector.