I made the call a while back that if the Australian Commonwealth accepted the recommendations of the Productivity Commission and lifted the restriction on parallel imports in the publishing industry, that I would lift a middle digit to my home and shift my fiction behind the closed walls of the United States.
I am pleased that the Commonwealth accepted no such recommendations and no digits— middle or otherwise—need lifting.
So I was bemused to read Allan Fels, emperor of the Productivity Commission, whining that Australians are being charged 35% more for books than “similar” (read crappier) US editions (like those US editions of first time Australian authors?). Ever notice how those who bleat on about cheaper books never seem to have a problem with the taxes on said books?
Anyway, Fels follows up his gnashing of teeth with this pearler:
“If the Government can’t deliver this simply reform because of the uneducated clamour of a few authors who are driven by publisher interests then there’s little hope that the Government will be able to stand up to other pressure groups and bring about useful change for the economy and for our society.”
So it’s the “uneducated clamour” of “a few authors” has momentarily tripped up the blinkered ideology of a handful of economic goons?
Good.
Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/11/11/2739736.htm