The Australian Labor Party has revealed it will oppose any attempt to repeal parallel importation restrictions (PIR), a move which has been applauded authors, publishers, and printers.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, Shadow Arts Minister, Tony Burke and Shadow Attorney General, Mark Dreyfus made the statement during a tour of south Sydney book printer Ligare Printing.
Executive chairman of Ligare’s parent company, Opus Group, Richard Celarc has described the visit as an historic moment for the company.
“We have never had a visit from a Prime Minister or an Opposition Leader. I received a call on Wednesday afternoon requesting for us to have Bill Shorten visiting the plant on Friday morning, ofcourse we said yes, but it was a mad scramble to get everything prepared,” Celarc explains.
“During the visit Bill made his announcement of Labor’s position on PIR removal, he also met with just about every worker on the factory floor, shook their hand and asked what their role was.”
Labor’s position comes in response to the Productivity Commission’s recently released draft report which recommends the removal of PIR and the introduction of a US-style ‘fair use’ system where courts determine the property rights of individual book titles.
Industry groups like the Australian Publishers Association have warned policymakers the changes could allow outside markets like China to flood the Australian market with its printed book imports.
Shorten says, “Labor will not support the government’s attempts to repeal parallel import restrictions.
“Labor is committed to ensuring that Australia has a vibrant local book industry. That means ensuring we support Australian authors, publishers and booksellers to continue to create local content for Australian audiences.
“We believe the removal of PIR would have caused significant damage to our local book industry, just as it did in New Zealand. As strong supporters of the arts – and our local book industry – we cannot stand by and let that happen.”
PIAA industries standards manager Rebecca Mason attended the announcement at Ligare, representing the association.
PIAA CEO Andrew Macaulay has commended Labor for taking its position against PIR removal.
He says, “Printing Industries has been working tirelessly for some time now with the various representatives of the Book Create Alliance to ensure the safety and stability of this vital and creative industry sector.”
Book printing, which falls under ‘publication printing services’ contributes 27.4 per cent of the Australian print industry’s total revenue. The industry has warned the removal of PIR will reduce the publication printing services segment ‘beyond the point of sustainability’ and threaten jobs.
Australian Manufacturing Workers Union NSW print secretary Vanessa Seagrove says industry and local jobs need to be valued.
“We have seen the impact of losing countless jobs and skills from our manufacturing base without the equivalent benefits to consumers,” Seagrove says.
“The Australian book industry must not go the same way. We are glad that Labor recognise this economic reality.”
Labor’s current stance on PIR does not come as a surprise, prior to the federal election in June Labor stated under its ‘100 positive policies’ it would approach any proposal to adjust PIR ‘with caution’.
More recently, in October Labor’s federal opposition spokesman for tourism Anthony Albanese penned an opinion piece stating his opposition to the removal of PIR, warning any changes would have dire consequences for the industry.
Comment below to have your say on this story.
If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.
Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter