Published 8 November 2008 · Main Posts Australian Society of Authors on parallel importation admin Press release from the ASA: Parallel importation: Authors are angry — Press ReleaseAuthors are angry The Australian Society of Authors (ASA) is extremely disappointed that the terms of reference for the Productivity Commission inquiry into parallel importation provisions for books lack any cultural component. The ASA has previously made submissions to the Productivity Commission for cultural issues to be part of the terms of reference, but these have fallen on deaf ears. “The terms are all economic,” said Dr Jeremy Fisher, ASA Executive Director. “This is absurd. Hasn’t the current credit crisis opened the eyes of government to the fact that economic rationalism is just another excuse for what Mr Rudd’ termed ‘rampant capitalism’. Our literature is an integral part of our culture, and any change to the parallel importation provisions of the Copyright Act will work against Australia’s authors and book illustrators. As it is, our book industry is thriving. We export books. Australian books make up 60% of the titles we read.” ASA Chair and widely published author, Dr Anita Heiss added: “Authors are very angry that the matter has been raised at all. Our book industry doesn’t depend on government handouts or funding breaks like other creative industries, yet there are moves afoot to destroy it. We support retention of the current provisions and will be very vocal in expressing our view.” admin More by admin › Overland is a not-for-profit magazine with a proud history of supporting writers, and publishing ideas and voices often excluded from other places. If you like this piece, or support Overland’s work in general, please subscribe or donate. Related articles & Essays 28 March 20249 April 2024 · Main Posts Why we should value not only lived experience, but also lived expertise Sukhmani Khorana In the wake of this year’s International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, I want to extend the central idea of El Gibbs’s 2022 essay on 'lived expertise' and argue that in media accounts of racism, analytical expertise and lived experience ought to be valued together and even in the same body. 5 March 2024 · Main Posts Andrew Charlton’s school assignment Alex McKinnon Australia's Pivot to India exists for three reasons: so that when Andrew Charlton is interviewed on the radio or introduced on Q+A, his bio includes the phrase "he has written a book about Indian-Australian relations"; to fend off accusations that he is another Kristina Keneally engaging in electoral colonialism in western Sydney; and to help the Albanese government strengthen economic and military ties with Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.