Printing Industries Association of Australia (PIAA) alongside the Aus Publishers Association, The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) and the Australian Society of Authors have called upon federal Parliament to help protect the Aussie book industry.
PIAA chief executive Andrew Macaulay urges Senator Mitch Fifield – the minister responsible for the current legislation – to uphold Australian intellectual property rights which protect Aussie authors and publishers from overseas imports.
“The Association applauds Senator Fifield taking an interest in this risk to Australian creativity and industry, and encourages him to unambiguously ensure that Government policy is to protect Australian intellectual property rights,” says Macaulay.
“This should provide the basis for all sides of the new Parliament to reject any attempts to change the current arrangements.”
Fifield stated prior to the election that the Government believes, ‘Australian literature is vital to our cultural and intellectual life and the Coalition values the unique role that literature and books play in communicating Australian stories’.
According to the PIAA, the book industry has been in a limbo since the Harper Review on Competition was released in 2015. The subsequent proposals for copyright law changes could reduce protection for publishers and authors, such as the removal of parallel import restrictions (PIRs).
[Related: Griffin Press defends Aussie book industry]
If the decision to repeal PIRs on books is allowed to proceed, the PIAA says Australia's authors – whose creative earnings already average less than $13,000 per year – will lose valuable royalties, career-supporting income from overseas rights sales, and the support of a healthy Australian publishing industry.
“Australia has the 14th largest publishing industry in the world and the book industry employs more than 20,000 people. Why risk a successful and healthy industry for an unproven economic model,” states the PIAA.
“The projected impact on employment and investment will be far greater than any small reduction in price given the fact that the market for locally produced books is subject to intense competition from online sales and e-books.”
Highly placed sources in the local book printing industry believe the push to end PIR comes from a couple of libertarian idealogues within government, who believe only the market should set business parameters.
The PIAA is encouraging members of the print industry to show its support by signing a petition calling on Treasurer Scott Morrison to reject any recommendations from the Productivity Commission’s Book Industry Report: https://www.change.org/p/scott-morrison-save-australian-literature-stop-parallel-importation-of-books
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