The motion, by the Federal Member for Bendigo Steve Gibbons (whose electorate includes Maryborough, where many are employed by McPherson's Printing), is supported by the party's left, but Competition Minister Craig Emerson, supported by the right faction, is pushing for reform to the current laws.
Emerson has reportedly floated several options for compromise, among them a plan that would reduce the 30-day rule to seven days. He has also suggested a cap on book prices (similar to the system in Canada). Emerson reportedly intends to submit a compromise proposal to cabinet.
At the caucus meeting yesterday Gibbons' motion was deferred, to be considered ‘after cabinet made a decision on the issue', reported the Australian.
The division on the issue among Labor party members and factions means few in the industry are willing to guess how the numbers will fall when Cabinet considers the matter.
(In related news, Greens Senators Christine Milne and Scott Ludlam put a motion in the Senate that the government ‘abandon the plans... to remove or restrict territorial copyright protection for books'. Senator Steve Fielding was among those to vote the motion down, arguing it was against Senate procedure not to hold a general debate on the issue before such a vote was conducted.)
Dymocks, ABA call for reform, Dymocks chair puts forward alternative proposal
Both Dymocks CEO Don Grover and Dymocks chair John Forsyth wrote letters to members of Caucus on the issue ahead of yesterday's meeting.
Grover's letter reiterated that the chain had joined the Australian Booksellers Association (ABA) in calling for reform to the 1991 amendments.
'We ... support the reduction of the 30 and 90 day rules set in 1991 to 7 and 7 days,' he wrote. 'This will ensure that books are available in Australia at the same time as they are available online and that they remain available to consumers.'
Forsyth put forward an alternative proposal, suggesting that a levy on publishers' sales be used to fund writing and printing grants.
'Grants [say $2000 to $100k] to subsidise the writing, editing, printing, distribution and promotion of culturally worthwhile books would be awarded upon a joint application from author and publisher,' Forsyth suggested. 'The grants would be awarded and administered through the Literature Board of the Australia Council.'
The Australian Publishers Association (APA) continues to argue that a reduction in the 30-/90-day rule is unacceptable.
'Booksellers, with some major exceptions, say a 7-day rule will reduce the drift of consumers to the internet,' said the APA. 'They are dead wrong. One reason consumers go to the internet is diversity of choice. A 7-day rule will mean a smaller range of books in Australian bookstores, which in turn means more consumers will be driven to the internet. So everybody loses from a reduction of the 30-day rule: consumers, retailers, printers, publishers and authors.'
But the ABA, in its letter to caucus members, said the APA's argument that the current system allowed booksellers to compete with the internet in the spheres of price and diversity showed it did 'not understand retail'.
‘They have got that dead wrong,' said the letter. ‘Under the arrangements put in place in 1991, to achieve protection from imports a publisher in Australia has a full 30 days after the first publication date of a book overseas to make that book available in Australia. And a publisher in Australia has a full 90 days to resupply bookstores that have run out of stock.
‘The 30-day and 90-day rules were set when the internet was barely in existence and well before the introduction of digital printing technology. They are based on old technology.'
Waiting game
With a vote on Gibbons' motion delayed, reportedly until 24 November, it could be several more weeks until the trade knows what the future will hold--though there is still a possibility that cabinet will make a decision on the issue before caucus meets to discuss it again.
Federal Minister for the Arts Peter Garrett, when questioned on the topic yesterday, said cabinet ‘will make a decision on the basis of the advice that comes through both from the Minister who has carriage of it and also considering the wider issues afield'. He said he did not ‘propose to second guess where the cabinet will go'.
‘I have always said that I am a strong supporter of a healthy and viable Australian publishing and literary tradition, that's for me a very, very strong and very, very clear statement, but when we get into the cabinet we'll have an opportunity to talk these issues through thoroughly,' he said.
