Craig Emerson, federal minister for competition policy and consumer affairs, announced the decision earlier today coinciding with a rally of printers, authors and publishers in Melbourne’s CBD to protest against the Productivity Commission’s recommendation for an end to territorial copyright.
Philip Andersen, CEO of Printing Industries says the government’s decision to support the position of Printing Industries and the book printing industry, the Australian Book Publishers Association, authors and readers and the majority of state premiers marked the successful end to a campaign that had spanned more than 18 months.
He says, “While it has been a very long and costly campaign, and a stressful time for the thousands of people who livelihoods were at risk, everyone can rest assured that their efforts were worthwhile and have been rewarded with a just decision.”
Andersen continues, “Considering that this was the sixth examination of the legislation by government authorities in the past 20 years, I think it proves conclusively that the current legislation is sound and that the industry and the thousands of people it employs can now move forward.”
Meanwhile, Craig Emerson says the Productivity Commission report acknowledged that removing these restrictions would adversely affect Australian authors, publishers and culture. The Commission recommended extra budgetary funding of authors and publishers to compensate them for this loss.
Emerson says, “The Government has decided not to commit to a new spending programme for Australian authors and publishers. In the circumstances of intense competition from online books and e-books, the Government judged that changing the regulations governing book imports is unlikely to have any material effect on the availability of books in Australia. If books cannot be made available in a timely fashion and at a competitive price, customers will opt for online sales and e-books.”
Andersen says he wishes to thank Emerson and the government for making the right decision and his ongoing consultation with all affected parties to ensure the best possible outcome was achieved.
Andersen continues, “I hope this marks the beginning of a new, proactive relationship in which any future matters involving government authorities can be resolved through co-operative discussion.”
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