ASA calls for DLR at public hearing for Federal Inquiry

24.02.21

Last Friday, ASA CEO Olivia Lanchester, ASA Director Melissa Lucashenko, and ASA member Nick Earls attended a public hearing before the Standing Committee for Communications and the Arts conducting the Inquiry into the Creative and Cultural Industries, and called for the prioritisation of digital lending rights.

As you may recall, the ASA prepared a submission for the Federal Inquiry, warning that the sustainability and diversity of Australian writing is under threat and calling for an overhaul in the way the Government invests in and supports Australian writers. Action points not only included a boost in investment for writers, but the modernisation of the Australian lending rights schemes (PLR/ELR) to include digital formats - ebooks and audiobooks. 

Appearing alongside the Australian Digital Alliance and the Australian Libraries Copyright Committee, the ASA representatives spoke about the need to make digital lending rights a priority in 2021-22, supported by a boost to the PLR / ELR budget, particularly in the wake of COVID-19 when digital borrowing is on the rise and libraries are growing their digital collections. “This would represent direct government support for writers and illustrators, within an existing, successful infrastructure,” says Lanchester. 

You can read more about the ASA’s Digital Lending Rights campaign here. We invite our members to join our campaign for DLR by contacting your local MP to request the expansion of the lending rights schemes now. You can find the details of your MP here, and download our template letter here.