Kim Carr: 'Too much publicly funded research and writing remains unpublished.' Photograph: Alan Porritt/AAP
Labor has committed $12m to establish an Australian Universities Press and a permanent Book Industry Innovation Council to try to halt the downturn in domestic publishing, if it wins government.
The initiatives were recommended by the industry through a final report of the Book Industry Collaborative Council released on Monday as the publishing industry bleeds through international internet sales and book retailers continue to close.
The collaborative council, which began its work in 2010, brought together representatives of publishing, printing and book retailing for the first time.
Labor would make the council permanent to continue to advocate for the Australian publishing industry and collaborate to promote the growth of domestic publishing.
The Australian Universities Press would showcase research work from universities, particularly the humanities.
The minister for higher education and innovation, senator Kim Carr, said the new publisher would be another boost to the industry by reducing costs and increasing collaboration between universities to encourage more scholarly works made available to build knowledge and enrich public discourse.
"Too much publicly funded research and writing remains unpublished, or under-exposed, particularly in the humanities, arts and social sciences, and with this initiative we want to bring more of that work into prominence in the public domain," Carr said.
Australian publishers and the university sector welcomed the announcement, while calling for bipartisan support for the recommendations of the Book Industry Collaborative Council.
The chief executive of Melbourne University Press, Louise Adler, said at a time when multinational giant Amazon was the biggest bookseller in Australia, the domestic industry needed to find innovative ways to support books.
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The initiatives were recommended by the industry through a final report of the Book Industry Collaborative Council released on Monday as the publishing industry bleeds through international internet sales and book retailers continue to close.
The collaborative council, which began its work in 2010, brought together representatives of publishing, printing and book retailing for the first time.
Labor would make the council permanent to continue to advocate for the Australian publishing industry and collaborate to promote the growth of domestic publishing.
The Australian Universities Press would showcase research work from universities, particularly the humanities.
The minister for higher education and innovation, senator Kim Carr, said the new publisher would be another boost to the industry by reducing costs and increasing collaboration between universities to encourage more scholarly works made available to build knowledge and enrich public discourse.
"Too much publicly funded research and writing remains unpublished, or under-exposed, particularly in the humanities, arts and social sciences, and with this initiative we want to bring more of that work into prominence in the public domain," Carr said.
Australian publishers and the university sector welcomed the announcement, while calling for bipartisan support for the recommendations of the Book Industry Collaborative Council.
The chief executive of Melbourne University Press, Louise Adler, said at a time when multinational giant Amazon was the biggest bookseller in Australia, the domestic industry needed to find innovative ways to support books.
More
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