It has long been a gripe of Australian consumers that despite a
strong currency they’re asked to fork out considerably more for
tech products than their counterparts in other parts the world.
The situation looks as if it may be coming to a head, with the
country’s House Committee on Infrastructure and Communications
announcing Monday it is summoning representatives from computer
giants Apple, Microsoft and Adobe to appear before a special
committee to explain exactly how they set their prices. The
public hearing is set to take place in Canberra on March 22.
“In what’s probably the first time anywhere in the world, these
IT firms are now being summoned by the Australian parliament to
explain why they price their products so much higher in
Australia compared to the United States,” Labor government MP Ed
Husic, who helped set up the committee in May 2012, told
Reuters.  He added, “For some time consumers and businesses have
been trying to work out why they are paying so much more,
particularly for software, wh