‘I would call on all publishers to make submissions to the Productivity Commission,' Random House managing director Margie Seale told WBN. Speaking on behalf of the association, Seale said the APA had ‘every confidence that the Productivity Commission will find the current laws are good'. ‘The 1991 reforms have led directly to the [situation where] sixty percent of books bought in Australia are Australian,' said Seale, adding that this was an impressive statistic, especially when compared to other sectors such as film or music.
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) has also cited the 60% statistic, criticising the ‘lack [of] any cultural component' in the terms of reference. ‘Our literature is an integral part of our culture, and any change to the parallel importation provisions of the Copyright Act will work against Australia's authors and book illustrators,' said executive director Jeremy Fisher. ‘The ASA has previously made submissions to the Productivity Commission for cultural issues to be part of the terms of reference but these have fallen on deaf ears.'
Fisher said the terms were ‘all economic'; however the points listed under the Commission's ‘scope of study' refer to the ‘benefits and effects' of the current laws, and indicate that the Commission will need to consider ‘whether the benefits to the community from the present provisions outweigh any costs from restricting competition'. It must also, as one of its key considerations, regard ‘the impacts on all relevant industry groups including authors, publishers, printers, distributors, retailers, consumers, libraries and educational institutions'.
The Productivity Commission process
Following the release of the terms of reference, the Productivity Commission has stated that it intends to release an issues paper, most likely in the next two weeks. While the issues paper is intended to spark discussion by outlining key issues identified by the Commission, parties wishing to make a submission are not restricted by the scope of the paper. WBN understands the issues paper will be informed by industry meetings scheduled in the coming fortnight.
While a submissions deadline has yet to be set, WBN understands it is likely to be announced in the next two days, and may be as early as December, with an interim report likely to be released early next year ahead of the Productivity Commission sending its final report to the federal government in May. To register interest in the study, and for further details, visit the Productivity Commission website here.
A Productivity Commission spokesperson told WBN that while the Commission prefers submissions that can be made publicly available, organisations that wished to make a submission on a confidential basis could be accommodated.
Booksellers respond
When it comes to submissions to the Commission, it seems likely the responses of booksellers will be varied.
‘The official position of the ABA was set in 2001 and we are in favour of the open market,' ABA CEO Malcolm Neil told WBN. ‘The ABA is a broad church and there are booksellers with a range of opinions on the topic. The majority, however, feel that the current system does not work for them.'
Dymocks CEO Don Grover has long been clear in his support for changes to the current laws, and told WBN he thought the terms of reference were sound. ‘I think they're broad but comprehensive,' he said. ‘There's plenty of room for everyone to ensure they bring good data and good views and opinions, I don't think it's missing anything.'
Grover, who confirmed he would be meeting with representatives of the Productivity Commission ahead of the release of its issues paper, said Dymocks was confident in making a submission on behalf of its 78 stores. ‘We're all together--we've spoken to our franchise owners. We've had discussions with them at our annual conference in July and in many Julys past. We know their opinions.'
Chris Burgess, general manager of the Leading Edge Books buying group of independent booksellers, said that while he, personally ‘can see many ways that independent booksellers would be negatively impacted' by a complete removal of restrictions in terms of local stock availability, trading terms, pricing instability and marketing/publicity support, let alone the impact on Australian authors', it was ‘important that a range of views be aired in the media by all participants in the industry rather than major players making ambit claims "on behalf of Booksellers".'
Burgess told WBN that ‘once the timeframes of the enquiry have been announced, Leading Edge Books will be doing everything possible to help inform independent booksellers about the issues, form their own conclusions, and hopefully submit these conclusions to the review'.
A compromise?
With vocal opposition on the part of publishers and authors to any changes to the current laws, and many booksellers arguing the current model is outdated, WBN wonders if there is any chance of a compromise on this issue?
Burgess, giving his personal opinion, suggested that while wholesale changes to the current laws were not required, ‘a shortening of the "90-day rule" to a more realistic figure' might be; and while Seale pointed out that ‘even with current technology' it would be difficult for publishers to meet a deadline shorter than 30 days, she agreed changes to the 90-day rule could be up for discussion. The priority for the APA was the protection of Australia's territorial copyright.
However, Neil said that while relations between the APA and ABA were cordial during the current debate ‘nothing of substance is being discussed at the moment' by the two organisations.
What do you think? Please send your opinion to bookseller.publisher@thorpe.com.au.
