Kim Carr (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research) Share this | Hansard source

I know that the opposition is now locked into Tony Abbott’s—the Leader of the Opposition’s—idea of ‘the good old days’. I know they long for days of dearth and of pestilence, and the days of witch burning and the Black Death, but they might pay a little bit of attention to what are important matters for the future of this country in regard to the book industry, which is of vital importance to the cultural life of this nation, but is equally important to our innovative efforts. We need a strong domestic book industry to help us take Australian ideas to the world and to bring the world’s ideas to Australia. The book industry itself faces many innovation challenges, including the challenge presented by the e-book and other digital technologies. The government wants Australian firms to be in the vanguard of the emerging digital publishing industry. We want Australian books, whether they are in print or digital, to be able to compete internationally on equal terms with the books from the United Kingdom, the United States and the other big players in the English language market. The government wants to ensure that Australia is one of the international leaders in regard to innovation in the book industry. (Time expired)