[ad_1]
Successful Hollywood producer James Cameron has received more than $ 150,000 in wage subsidies and one of his businesses shows no signs of opening its doors again.
The signs have been in the window of Cameron’s store in Greytown, Wairarapa, Food Forest Organics, for months saying it is closed until further notice due to Covid-19.
The Work and Income database shows that Food Forest Organics received $ 25,288 in salary subsidies for four of its employees, while T Base 2 took $ 126,532 in subsidies for 18 employees.
The wage subsidy rules only state that employers must keep employees during the period covered by the wage subsidy.
READ MORE:
* Briscoe to return $ 11.5 million wage subsidy after ‘strong sales’
* Coronavirus: Avatar producer Jon Landau returns to New Zealand
* James Cameron takes over the organic empire
Jon Landau / Instagram
James Cameron, left, and Jon Landau arrive in Wellington after Avatar’s crew received special permission to enter New Zealand in May. (File photo)
Cameron is the sole director and shareholder of both companies. He is on the list of residents in Malibu, California, although he has extensive property in Wairarapa, where he sometimes lives. Both companies remain registered with the New Zealand Business Office.
South Wairarapa Mayor Alex Beijen said there had been no action at the store since May. The shelves were now “empty and dusty.”
“Makes you wonder how much longer it can last,” he said.
Local councilor Leigh Hay realized the store was unlikely to reopen.
“There was product there for several months, but I don’t think there is now,” he said.
Cameron has a reported net worth of $ 990 million to $ 1.4 billion.
PIERS FULLER / Things
James Cameron’s Food Forest Organics closed at the start of Covid-19 and has not reopened.
Its 2009 Avatar The film, made in New Zealand, received a government refund of $ 44.7 million and the sequels were eligible for more than $ 22 million in refunds in 2020.
Thirty-one Avatar The international crew were allowed to cross New Zealand’s virtually closed borders in May after receiving a special waiver from the government. Meanwhile, Cameron’s non-film companies have been supported with taxpayer funding through Covid-19.
Cameron could not be reached for comment.
Michael Gousmett, an independent researcher and associate fellow at the University of Canterbury, has previously said that many companies were “altering the system” by claiming the subsidy despite being able to support themselves financially.
PIERS FULLER / Things
James Cameron’s Food Forest Organics front window signs in Wairarapa.
“If I were in [Cameron’s] financial position I would say this is not morally correct and I would pay it back, ”Gousmett said.
Documents issued under the Official Information Act in 2012 showed that Cameron applied for New Zealand residency in Immigration NZ’s Investment Plus category, restricted to individuals investing more than $ 10 million. He had to spend at least 88 days in the country for two years to meet the residency requirements.
Cameron added a Wairapara property number 14 to his properties in 2016.
