BIG NEWS FROM AUSTRALIA
Books win for authors and publishers

Mark Davis and Ari Sharp writing in the Sydney Morning Herald
November 11, 2009

Local authors, book publishers and unions have secured a win over the major book retailing chains in their campaign to maintain restrictions on imports of cheaper foreign-published books.

The Federal Government this morning announced it would abandon proposed changes to Australia's book publishing regime that supporters say would have made books cheaper and more widely available but critics argued would harm the local publishing industry.
In announcing the decision, Consumer Affairs Minister Craig Emerson argued the growth of online retailers such as Amazon and electronic books such as Kindle would instead drive innovation and price reductions.

"In the circumstances of intense competition from online books and e-books, the Government judged that changing the regulations governing book imports is unlikely to have any material effect on the availability of books in Australia," Dr Emerson said in a statement.

Under the existing rules, a title qualifies for protection if the Australian publisher releases the book here within 30 days of its overseas release. Dr Emerson is believed to have explored a compromise that would have reduced this 30-day period to seven or 14 days.
But that plan, as well as an alternative proposal of a price cap similar to one in place in Canada, were rejected by the Government.

The decision means the Government will not go ahead with a planned new spending program for Australian authors and publishers, which had been recommended by the Productivity Commission to compensate the industry for the proposed changes.
The full report at SMH.

And more on the same subject from Publishing Perpectives:

Australian Government Keeps Protections for Publishers By Andrew Wilkins CANBERRA: Today, an intense year-long debate about the future of Australia's publishing industry effectively came to an end with the announcement that the Australian government had rejected a proposal from its own think-tank to turn Australian into an open market for books. "The Government has decided not to change the Australian regulatory regime for books ... In the circumstances of intense competition from online books and e-books, the Government judged that changing the regulations governing book imports is unlikely to have any material effect on the availability of books in Australia," said Minister for Competition Policy and Consumer Affairs, Craig Emerson, in a statement. (read on ...)

Bonus Material: What Do You Think of Australia's Decision? Back in August, we asked you what you thought about the Australian Productivity Commission's proposal to turn Australia into an open market for books. The overwhelming majority of responses were against the proposed changes. Today, that proposal was rejected by the Australian government. Was it the right decision or is the government stifling free-market competition? (Tell us what you think in the comments section)