Many thanks to Dana Wilmington for the transcript below

Time Magazine
13 July 1998

Too Close for Comfort? (Time 13 July 1998), Page 53

A court ruling in favor of New Zealand programs puts the Australian TV
Industry on the defensive By Michael Fitzgerald

A camera pans along a section of New Zealand's rugged west coast as the
American voice-over intones: "In times of ancient gods, warlords and
kings, a land in turmoil cried out for a hero. She was Xena-a mighty
princess forged in the heat of battle. The power, the passion, the
danger. Her courage will change the world." So begins another TV episode
of Xena: Warrior Princess. With her chakram, a decapitating discus, and
her metal-clad cleavage, the pre-Mycenaean cult heroine played by New
Zealand actres U.S.-produced yet filmed around Auckland with local actors
and crew, Xena represents a New Zealand TV industry in search of an
identity. And one not afraid to take on a bigger power across the Tasman.
Since 1993, Australian TV producers have been shielded by a transmission
quota requiring networks to show at least 50% local content between 6a.m
and midnight. But on April 28 the High Court of Australia ruled that
because of the Closer Economic Relations treaty between the two countries,

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Continues with the debate for and opposing this move and the importance of
Australian television and the threat from foreign television, then
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------(New Zealand)

"In their eagerness to bring in American production
and in their worshipping at the altar of deregulation, they have slowly
but surely destroyed their own industry." Admits Barnett: "The strength
of the Australian industry and the willingness of both politicians and the
public to support it is something we envy."------------------------

Back to Xena - final paragraph

------------Up for consideration is a new test to help determine what
constitutes Australian content. These days it's increasingly hard to
define, says writer Gudgeon: "Four gum trees and a koala - does that make
it Australian?"

Or four gum trees and a kiwi? Producer Simpson worries about an industry
where "the whole thing becomes a mid-Tasman production, which is neither
Australian or New Zealand." Just ask Xena. To the New Zealand industry
and its Australian Rival she might symbolize the Kiwi spirit, but under
the ABA's current test, she's American. Her war cry is about the only
thing certain in TV's ongoing sea change.
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