ALP Conference calls for territorial copyright inquiry

Labor Party creates working group to examine the Productivity Commission’s recommendations to end territorial copyright.

Announced at last week’s Australia Labor Party Conference in Sydney, the motion was moved by AMWU representative Lorraine Cassin and seconded by Mark Dreyfus QC MP – president of the National ALP Policy Committee. 

The lengthy resolution stated: 

“Labor believes that the Government should give priority to encouraging Australians to keep on buying Australian books and to maximising the economic, cultural and creative viability of Australian literature and Australian book industries.

"Labor notes the Productivity Commission’s report, Parallel Imports of Books. Labor acknowledges the matters considered in the report include territorial copyright, arrangements in comparable countries, consumer choice, pricing, education, the creative rights of authors and the jobs and economic well-being of Australians engaged in book industries.

"Labor agrees to establish an ALP Working Group to consider the matters raised in the Productivity Commission’s report and ensure consistency with the priority expressed by this Conference.

"The Working Group will provide a report to the National Executive for circulation to relevant Ministers within one month. The report will assist Ministers in the Government’s consideration of the Productivity Commission’s report.” 

Printing Industries CEO, Philip Andersen, said the Federal Government should fully understand that industry, state governments, publishers authors and the community in general were united against the Productivity Commission’s recommendations. 

“This is the opportune time to implement what we as an industry have proposed to the Government and that is to establish an industry plan for the Australian book production industry to examine not only the issue of territorial copyright but other critical and associated industry issues as well,” he said. 

“We will be continuing our lobbying efforts this week when we meet the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, Senator Kim Carr.”

A recent poll on this issues conducted by Choice, the largest consumer organisation in Australia, showed that only six per cent of respondees agreed with the Commission’s assertion that its recommendations would be good for the book buying public. 

57 per cent said they believed it would kill of the Australian book publishing industry and 24 per cent said the move would only benefit leading book chains.