Come March 22, IT giants such as Apple and Microsoft will be forced to appear before a government inquiry in Canberra to explain why Australians pay up to 50% more for digital music, and the “Australian-Tax” that’s applied to many digital products.
As previously reported in October last year, this follows persistent work by Labor MP Ed Husic, the member for Chifley, in Sydney’s south-east, at the helm of the inquiry, which was first assembled in May 2012.
According to Husic, the companies have refused multiple requests to appear voluntarily before the committee, and the government has said enough is enough, forcing the IT giants to appear before the committee after months of polite invitations and stern warnings over their lack of cooperation.
“This is an important move but one we shouldn’t have to take,” Mr Husic told News Ltd. “These firms should have cooperated and been prepared to be more open and transparent about their pricing approaches.”
“In what’s probably the first time anywhere in the world, these IT firms are now being called by the Australian Parliament to explain why they price their products so much higher in Australia compared to the US,” says Mr Husic. “Given the widespread use of IT across businesses and the community, the prices paid for hardware and software can have a major commercial and economic impact,” he concluded.
Until now, many of the companies involved have brought only basic information and data to the inquiry, and, according to the Business Spectator, have left the intensive research or “heavy lifting,” to regulatory body Australian Information Industry Association. Alternately, mega corporation Apple has only offered to provide information confidentially to the courts.
CHOICE, an independent consumer watchdog publication dedicated to “empowering consumers… by providing a mix of advocacy and advice,” have welcomed the move, which will urge these companies to accountability in court next month.
They were also the organisation that undertook an investigation into inflated prices, with one especially revealing case being a particular Microsoft development product, “an Australian shopper was better off paying for return flights to LA to buy the item in the US instead.”
It was CHOICE that revealed the more accurate level of inflation is closer to 67%, whose submission to the IT Pricing Inquiry revealed that Australian’s pay an average of $2.19 for Apple iTunes new release music singles, while those in the US pay a humbler $1.31.
Executive director of The Australia Institute, economist Richard Denniss has genuine concerns over whether consumers are aware of such pricing discrepancies. “I don’t know that many people realise just how ripped off we’ve been,” he said in a recent News Ltd interview. All of this, in spite of Australia’s powerful dollar, currently buying $US 1.03.
It is uncertain what the subpoenaed companies will reveal at the Federal inquiry, but the government and regulatory bodies hope it will shed light on the dynamics of the digital pricing system. Of coures IT giants like Apple and Microsoft have significant weight and power with the services they provide to Australia, let alone the rest of the world.
The government’s aggressive tactics in tackling some of the world’s largest companies is standing up for the rights of consumers and music lovers looking to get a fairer price in taking the legitimate option, but it’s still unclear how information dug up by the inquiry will help implement change towards legislation over digital pricing. If anything, it’s an admirable start towards better digital pricing equality.
