Parallel importation restrictions petition

There is now an online petition available in support of Aussie Books.
To register your vote, go to:  http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/no-parallel-importation-of-books-into-australia.html

The online petition does NOT replace the paper petition. Paper petitions carry more weight (of influence) and are therefore still preferred. The paper petition can be downloaded from http://savingaussiebooks.wordpress.com/, or by clicking here:  Paper Petition. Paper petitions close 1 September 2009.

Background (Preamble):
The Australian Government is considering whether to abolish the Restrictions on Parallel Imports of Books into Australia. If it goes ahead this action will have drastic effects on Australian-authored fiction and non-fiction books - and causing the loss of many jobs in the publishing, printing and distribution industries. For further information go to http://savingaussiebooks.wordpress.com/.

Petition:
We, the undersigned, ask the Parliament to retain the current restrictions on the Parallel Importation of books for the following reasons:

1. There is no guarantee books will be cheaper, but removing the Restrictions will cause severe job losses in the publishing, book printing, packaging, and distribution industries.

2. The diversity of local and international book titles will diminish as publishers are forced to make smaller print runs, and take fewer risks with new authors.

3. Australian authors should not be forced to rely on unspecified extra taxpayer funded grants and subsidies, as suggested by the Productivity Commission, to compensate income lost under Parallel Importation.

4. Imported versions of Australian-authored books will be in direct competition with authentic editions. Foreign versions often change drastically to suit overseas markets – removing Australian idioms, references, humour and spelling. This is of particular concern for those Australian children who already struggle with spelling and literacy.