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Australian IT Price Hike Inquiry Kicks Off: Submissions Wanted
New submitter wirelessduck writes "After some recent complaints from a Labor MP about price markups on software and technology devices in Australia, Federal Government agencies decided to look in to the matter and an official parliamentary inquiry into the issue was started. 'The Federal Parliament's inquiry into local price markups on technology goods and services has gotten under way, with the committee overseeing the initiative issuing its terms of reference and calling for submissions from the general public on the issue.'"
Because Kangaroos are pretty awesome(basically velociraptor sheep) I offer the following advice:
Y'know why vendors price their goods absurdly high in Australia? Because they can.
Y'know why they can? Because You, the government of Australia, let them.
Allow free importation of goods from the US and other markets and watch the vendor premiums for your mysterious island continent collapse. If Australians could simply buy from Adobe US, It'd be pretty difficult for Adobe to maintain a price premium...
Here endeth the lesson.
Is as useful as tits on a bull. Companies can charge whatever they damn well want for their software. Who is anybody to tell them different?
Complaining about the lack of funding into open source or at least home-grown software is much more useful.
It's not so much about high prices - it's about price discrimination. Yes, companies can charge whatever they damn well want for their software. And if they sell it for half the price in the US as compared to Australia, then customer's can damn well buy it wherever they want. And if companies introduce artificial barriers to stop the customers doing just that, that's when the government needs to smack them down.
Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face
Is as useful as tits on a bull.
No It's not
Companies can charge whatever they damn well want for their software.
Sure, but they shouldn't be allowed to stop you importing it from another region.
Who is anybody to tell them different?
The Australian Government