Australian MP is Staggered by Apple's Behaviour

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Posted August 20, 2011 at 7:18pm by iClarified · 10816 views

Federal Labor MP Ed Husic is pushing for an enquiry by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission into inflated pricing on Apple's products in Australia. Husic recently widened his complaint to included other companies such as Adobe Microsoft and Lenovo.

Delimiter.com.au reports that Husic first raised the issue in Parliament in March, noting that he would contact Apple Australia Managing Director Tony King on the matter. However, in a speech on Wednesday, Husic reveals that Apple has not responded to his inquiries.

"Amazingly, at the time, I was quietly warned by IT journalists and consumers not to expect a response," he said. "Chase them up I did; my office followed them up a number of times. They promised that by 16 July, Apple Australia's managing director Tony King would personally respond to the concerns raised in March once he returned from leave."

"Yet only a week later, it became clear that Apple was not going to move on the issue," the MP added. "Tech website Delimiter reported that Apple was set to hit consumers again. Its new MacBook Air was estimated to cost up to $300 more than US consumers would have to pay, and the new Apple Thunderbolt display would cost up to $270 more."

"July 16 came and went. Apple refused to respond, and I am staggered by their behaviour; they've snubbed consumer, media and parliamentary interest in this matter."

Recently, Apple updated iTunes to bring pricing in countries more in line with the U.S. App Store. Husic congratulated Apple for the move at the time.

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Australian MP is Staggered by Apple's Behaviour

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Roko - August 22, 2011 at 9:02am

How about Euro countries? We pay the same amount in euro's what US residents pay in dollars, that is more than twice as much

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Jared - August 21, 2011 at 1:53pm

so...hm. Lived in Australia for 2 years, saw the base average wage of those living in Melbourne in Sydney essentially being almost twice that of their United States counterparts - Brisbane not far behind (not sure about Adelaide or Perth) but really, much higher than most Americans...also saw grocery prices, rent, transit, and other general good prices much, much higher than the U.S. counterparts. it's not really a matter of exchange, it's a matter of cost of living in relation to consumer pricing. the minister in question wants pricing to sit at an unfair proportion of the cost of living in comparison to the rest of the world, to effectively give Australia an edge and technically cheaper products than anywhere else. correct me if I'm wrong - please - but I'm fairly certain this is how that's working. you can't have your cake, higher wages, and eat it too.

MJ23 - August 21, 2011 at 2:06pm

If cost of living has any linearity with the price of Apple products, it is because the local government makes it so and not because Apple decides to join the inflation. The government imposes tax and duties on whatever items they deem so if Apple falls into the category, it'll become expensive. However, that's as far as the factor goes I'm sure. It has more to do with the cost of the product with respect to that particular country's forex, regulations, etc. Take New York for instance, where cost of living is higher than in Colorado but the price of an iPad is the same throughout the US.

Kornmehl - August 21, 2011 at 12:00am

The issue of overpricing in Australia has been a problem with the public for a long while now. Perplexingly though, the big outlets cry fowl when the public votes with their wallets and purchase goods online. It's not really that difficult to source an Apple product more cheaply from overseas if one is determined enough. You know, Apple's Australian operations would do themselves a real service if they price their entire hardware lineup consistently with the rest of the world. Somehow though, I don't think that will happen anytime soon. :/

josh - August 20, 2011 at 8:44pm

Australia's not the only country that has 'a bit' more expensive apple products... In Slovenia (EU) and Croatia basic MacBook Pro 13' model costs 650USD more compared tho the US price... Basically, the same distributor for both countries (there are no Apple stores here) adds some extra profit...

Pain Reaper - August 20, 2011 at 11:24pm

The cheapest iPad 2 is $689 in Sweden (but VAT etc comes with the product so just like it or don't buy it)..

Someone - August 20, 2011 at 8:43pm

It costs more do get all these products "down under" if you don't like the price, don't buy them!

Micked - August 20, 2011 at 9:55pm

I do beleve that AU is a little closer to china where apple produce and shipp their products from then US! :)

Someone - August 20, 2011 at 11:40pm

Not really! When you're away from the rest of the world, everything's more expensive!

Mike Chapman - August 21, 2011 at 12:01am

I have been hearing this BS of costing more for years and years, shipping costs to the US from China are only marginally less than costs from Cina to Australia !

Someone - August 21, 2011 at 2:36am

Then why is everything in Alaska or Hawaii more expensive than the rest of the country? It's still part of USA.

Someonelse - August 21, 2011 at 2:38am

Cupertino is definitely further away and that's where all the money is shipped!!! :)

MJ23 - August 21, 2011 at 10:17am

There are several factors here: manufacturing country's regulations, receiving country's regulations, currency exchange, etc. It's not just shipping costs alone. For example, even though the products are mainly made in China, a lot of the countries receive their stocks from the regional supplier ie. Singapore due to freight charges, regulations, etc. So in terms of distance, you can't measure how far Australia is from China because the stocks transit in Singapore. Then there's the regulatory and political aspects to take into account. Not to mention forex. Like cars, I think we'll someday see parts from China being assembled in more countries, possibly making it cheaper (if labor in that country is cheaper).

Desertdude - August 22, 2011 at 9:22am

Don't forget the 10 per cent GST we have in Oz.