The announcement, which confirmed ‘compromise proposals were considered, involving reductions in the length of the 30-day publication rule and the 90-day resupply rule' said that ‘in the circumstances of intense competition from online books and ebooks, the Government judged that changing the regulations governing book imports is unlikely to have any material effect on the availability of books in Australia'.
Emerson, who had also considered a price-capping system, rejected such a scheme saying it would ‘increase regulation with questionable effects on book prices'.
‘If books cannot be made available in a timely fashion and at a competitive price, customers will opt for online sales and e-books,' said the statement, which ended with the warning that ‘the Australian book printing and publishing industries will need to respond to the increasing competition from imports without relying on additional government assistance.'
‘The Government has decided not to commit to a new spending program for Australian authors and publishers,' said the statement.
APA ‘delighted'
‘Obviously the publishers and the other stakeholders in our group are delighted,' said Australian Publishers Association (APA) CEO Maree McCaskill of the decision.
McCaskill told WBN the APA ‘appreciated the scrutiny applied to the industry both from booksellers, as well as cabinet and caucus'. ‘I'm appreciative of even the blowtorch that Craig Emerson applied, but in the long term there was obviously a recognition that publishers and printers, agents, authors and the whole of the Australian book industry is in fact an innovative, flexible and forward-looking industry with a great future,' she said.
The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) was similarly positive about the government announcement, calling Emerson's announcement ‘a clear victory for Australia's literary creators'. ‘Our members have been constantly telephoning and writing to their parliamentary representatives pointing out how the removal of territorial copyright would destroy Australia's literary culture and publishing industry,' said ASA executive director Jeremy Fisher. ‘Their persistence has been rewarded.'
However, Fisher and McCaskill acknowledged that the industry still faced significant challenges. ‘Minister Emerson correctly highlights the fact that ebooks and digital technology are having an impact on the Australian publishing industry' said Fisher, stating that the ASA would continue to ‘seek improved income streams for its members in both print and digital forms'.
McCaskill said that now the government decision had been made it was ‘time to bury all the hatchets and work together to improve all those issues that have caused the divisions in the industry today'.
ABA: disappointed at ‘lost opportunity'
The Australian Booksellers Association (ABA), which had been campaigning for the retention of PIRs but a reduction in the 30/90-day rule as well as the introduction of a Canadian-style price cap, was disappointed the government had decided against any reform, calling the retention of the current legislation a ‘lost opportunity to modernise our industry'.
‘The ABA is pleased that the hard work of its members has borne fruit in the rejection of the open market,' ABA CEO Malcolm Neil told WBN. ‘The significant work done at the grassroots level, involving letter-writing campaigns, petitions and other more innovative methods was a major factor in the government's decision [and] we congratulate the government for listening to the collective voice on this issue'. However, Neil said the challenges faced by booksellers ‘through the digital revolution, whether that be the ebook market just over the horizon, or the massive growth in online retailing, is not going to diminish'.
‘The market conditions set in 1991 act as a hindrance to competition and in spite of acknowledging this point in both the Productivity Commission study and in the government's response, booksellers were not supported in their desire for reform,' he said. ‘We look forward to our industry partners' response to this critical issue now that legislative involvement from government has been ruled out.'
Challenges remain
The campaign on parallel importation has lasted more than a year and while many in the industry are celebrating the government's decision, few think the issues raised by the Productivity Commission study will go away.
A rally organised by the Australians for Australian Books group, which includes the Australian Publishers Association, went ahead in Melbourne today despite the government's decision. ‘Some of the commentary in light of what's happened will change,' McCaskill, who flew down from Sydney for the event, told WBN. ‘But I think it's really important that people understand that copyright as it exists now enables Australia to stay on a level playing field with three big competitors, the US, UK and Canada.'
Meanwhile, several critics of the government's decision continued to focus on the issue of price, including Liberal frontbencher George Brandis who said the decision meant ‘that prices of books bought over the counter will be artificially higher than they otherwise would', the free market think tank the Institute of Public Affairs which claimed the retention of PIRs would ‘ensure consumers pay up to 32 per cent more than if they were scrapped', and former chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Allan Fels who claimed Australians were paying 35% more for similar editions of books being sold in the US in an address to the National Press Club today.
Challenges in the area of copyright, price and availability will continue into the new year and beyond. ‘This is unsustainable,' said Dymocks CEO Don Grover of the current legislation. ‘It's only a matter of time before jobs are lost.'
For now, said Neil: ‘With Christmas just around the corner it's business as usual for booksellers.'
