Approximately $100,000 of taxpayer money was used to fund a Christian film that seeks to endorse creationism and challenge Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution. Screen Australia approved the tax rebate for Creation Ministries International, who would fund the documentary, with the help of a certain loophole in the law, thus making the content of the entire production irrelevant.
The decision was reached despite the documentary, titled “Darwin: The Voyage that Shook the World”, grossing $116,436 at the Australian box office. Local media have acquired documents that can prove how Screen Australia handed over the tax rebate certificate to Creation Ministries and still the two parties landed in a legal fight at the Administrative Appeal Tribunal, with Creation Ministries demanding a higher rebate.
The issue was apparently resolved last month, with Creation Ministries being awarded $90,504 based on 20 percent of $452,518 for the film that was shot in Tasmania and several other locations across the world a few years ago.
The two parties have reportedly been in conflict since 2010. Under the existing tax rebate system, payments are refunded only after a production has been completed. The film was first screened in 2009.
On its website, Creation Ministries says that the documentary hopes to influence the mainstream to reconsider what Darwin claimed in his theory of evolution.
Referring to the movie as a thoughtful exploration, Creation Ministries said, “We trust that for years to come, as Christians use the DVD to show to their acquaintances, very large numbers of people will rethink and re-examine their various philosophies, and that many will come to know the truth that sets them free in Jesus Christ.”
Reviewing the documentary for Movieguide, Ted Baehr, film critic and chairperson of Christian Film and Television Commission said, “It reveals the flaws, confusion and falsehoods of (Darwin’s) theories.”
Danny Jarman, vice president of Atheist Foundation of Australia, said that he has failed to understand how the organization managed to sell the idea for the film to Screen Australia.
“From my perspective, it’s like giving money to anti-vaxxers (people opposed to vaccination programs),” he said.
Don Batten, chief executive of Creation Ministries Australia, said the taxpayer’s money helped only a little bit, as it constituted only a tiny part of the entire amount that was spent on the film.
A spokesperson for Screen Australia said the documentary did not receive any direct funding but matched the requirements of a producer offset, which is a refundable rebate for producers of feature films, television series and other projects in Australia.
Photo Credits: The Editor Man
