I'm surprised to have seen nothing from any of Wellington's Mayoral candidates, or Wellington MPs, on the risks in  allowing unions to end one of the few reasons why we've had a film industry here. "Mexicans with cellphones" is a dated description of what cheap labour offers, but if that is all that stands between work in the industry and no work, there will be plenty who would rather be Mexican.

The Minister of Finance will have mixed views. If the 'creatives' manage to drive away big budget production he'll see much less wasted on the subsidies that have made our film industry of dubious financial value to the country as a whole. But for Wellington the departure of the industry will be an unmitigated loss.

'Creatives' are notoriously foolish in political matters. There is a long history around the world of driving their own jobs away  with suicidal industrial claims. Perhaps the industry self selects for people prone to over-estimating their own importance and underestimating the supply of alternatives – people willing to do as asked by those who pay the bills.