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Below: On February 1, 2011, the ABC ran a news report looking at the impact of the Internet on the shopping behaviour of Australian consumers. The report suggests Australian retailers must adapt to the changed environment.
Below: On February 20, 2011, A Current Affair ran a segment detailing the criticisms of Gerry Harvey and other major retailers on the absence of the GST on many imported products bought online. The segment includes some criticisms of the retailers’ view. Below: On November 24, 2010, the ABC ran a segment investigating retailers’ demand for the imposition of the GST on most goods imported into Australia as online purchases. The segment looks at some of the arguments against this position. Below: In March, 2012, the National Australia Bank set up its Online Retail Index, which tracks Australian spending online on a monthly basis. The introduction to this service outlines current trends in Australian online spending. |
 Web links, documents |
On October 19, 2011, Inside Retail published an overview of a Times report arguing that the shopping mall is not in the dire condition that many commentators have suggested. The full text of this article can be found at http://www.insideretail.com.au/IR/IRNews/Reports-of-death-greatly-exaggerated-2819.aspx
On January 4, 2012, the Assistant Treasurer, Bill Shorten, claimed that retailers were exaggerating the impact that online purchases had had on depressed Christmas shopping in bricks and mortar stores.
This text can be accessed at http://www.smartcompany.com.au/retail/20110104-government-accuses-big-retailers-of-exaggerating-claims-that-overseas-retail-sales-hurt-christmas-trade.html
On April 29, 2012, Power Retail published a news report titled '50,000 retail job losses predicted by NRA - online to blame' The full text can be found at http://www.powerretail.com.au/news/50000-retail-job-losses-predicted-by-nra-online-to-blame/
On July 30, 2012, The Sydney Morning Herald carried a report which claimed that Australians are paying too much for tech products, in part because of the evaluated prices charged by overseas suppliers.
The full text of this report can be found at http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/aussies-gouged-on-tech-prices-inquiry-hears-20120730-23991.html
On August 2, 2012, The Punch published a comment titled 'Shopping centres must change before it's too late' by Frank Zumbo, an Associate Professor within the School of Business Law and Taxation at the University of New South Wales.. The full text can be found at http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Shopping-centres-must-change-before-its-too-late/
In September 2012, Price Waterhouse Coopers released their annual Digital Media Review. It includes discussion of some of the factors that have contributed to the growth in online shopping. The full text can be accessed at http://www.pwc.com.au/industry/retail-consumer/publications/digital-media-research/index.htm
On September 2, 2012, The Sydney Morning Herald published a background piece which treated an online survey of 1000 Australians conducted in June by the media buying group MagnaGlobal which presents information on the extent of 'showrooming', that is, consumers trialling products in stores that they the purchase online. The full text of this article can be found at http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/if-the-cap-fits-not-all-are-happy-to-buy-online-20120901-2574a.html
On September 7, 2012, the online academic discussion site, The Conversation, published a comment by its editor, Charis Palmer who interviewed Rick Krever,
Professor and Director of the Taxation Law and Policy Research Institute at Monash University, and John Freebairn Professor, Department of Economics at University of Melbourne. The article concludes that a new GST for online shoppers is unlikely.
The full text of these interviews and comment can be found at http://theconversation.edu.au/new-gst-for-online-shoppers-unlikely-experts-say-9408
On September 15, 2012, The Telegraph published an article titled 'Retailers push government to tax online sales' which outlined the continued pressure from large retailers and the National Retailers Association for the government to impose the GST on all goods imported via the Internet.
The full text of this article can be found at http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-news/retailers-push-government-to-tax-online-sales/story-e6freuzi-1226474467209
