Well-known Australian politician Anthony Albanese has penned a letter defending book printers and the publishing industry, condemning the government’s proposal to end restrictions on parallel book imports.
Albanese – who is the shadow minister for infrastructure and for tourism – argues the Turnbull government has not taken into consideration the people dependent on a thriving Australian book industry, particularly those employed at book printers.
The Labor senator says our local publishing culture should be both protected and cherished, asserting the Liberal’s stance on repealing PIRs would be the final nail the coffin for Australia’s book printing market.
“The Liberal proposal to abolish parallel import restrictions in the book publishing industry does not stack up when the impact on jobs and culture are taken into account,” says Albanese.
[Related: Printing Industries fights for Aussie books]
Albanese also warned the government of the economic toll PIR removals would take on the printing industry.
“The economic costs resulting from a contraction in the printing industry must also be considered. At least 4000 people work in the publishing industry,” he says.
“That figure reaches 20,000 when you add the booksellers and printers. Their jobs are important.”
Booker Prize winning author Peter Carey also spoke alongside Albanese on the retention of PIRs, cautioning the Liberal Party that Australia will sink back into a cultureless colony acting as a breeding ground for only British and American literature.
"Australia will become, as it was in the 1960s, a dumping ground for American and English books, and we will risk becoming, as we once were, a colony in the minds of others," says Carey.
The Turnbull government has indicated it would likely support the removal of PIRs, and since several high-profile identities have stepped forward to defend the Aussie industry and condemn plans to endanger our territorial rights.
Ben Jolly, CEO of South Australian book printer Griffin Press publicly slammed the PIR proposal earlier this year, stating a repeal of the law could disintegrate the whole local print and publishing industry.
Printing Industries Association of Australia (PIAA) also recently announced it would soon engage in discussions with Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, Greens’ spokesperson for Trade about parallel imports and its effect on book printers.
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