Apple to Discuss Lowering Prices in Australia

Pricing disparities between the US and Australia are becoming a big issue according to Australian Member of Parliament (MP) Ed Husic who has called up on Apple Australia managing director Tony King to meet up and see what can be done so that customers aren’t taxed so high compared to fellow Apple fans living in America and other parts of the world.

Technology prices are significantly higher in Australia than the rest of the world, as the Australian Dollar has gained significant traction in recent years.

For example, a MacBook Air costs roughly 15% more down under than in the US.

A copy of Adobe’s CS5.5 Design Premium is priced 75% higher, according to Australian newspaper The Age.

The paper reports that King had agreed in March to speak with Parliament by July 16, yet no meetings took place to this date to discuss the pricing disparities.

Rebuffed, Husic raised the matter on the floor of Parliament, saying: “Apple refused to respond and I am staggered by their behaviour: they've snubbed consumer, media and parliamentary interest in this matter.”

Husic told Parliament last Wednesday that its products are significantly more expensive for Aussies, such as the new Thunderbolt displays which cost $270 more for Australians - even though Apple has recently reduced the prices of apps, music and other content that gets digitally bought on iTunes.

"Apple did suddenly find my telephone number and rang me yesterday and we are trying to find a time because I'm in Canberra next week [and] Tony King's in the States," Husic said in a phone interview this morning.

Apple is reportedly trying to set up a meeting between MP Husic and Tony King.

Husic said that if companies refuse to be transparent with their pricing, he would ask the ACCC (Australia’s pricing regulator), to "take up the case for long-suffering consumers and carry out a formal inquiry into why these prices differ so wildly."