Given the latest news about Australian moves to push down hardware and software prices, change copyright legislation to encourage resale of e-books, and generally break open the current restrictions on digital media, it’s interesting to note that Kobo has just launched direct sales of its reader devices to customers Down Under, according to IT Wire.

Aussie customers can already buy Kobo devices from retailers such as Bookworld—which right now is running a special promotion on the Kobo mini for just A$49 ($44). For now at least, the range and basic prices of the various Kobo devices in Australia seem likely to stay the same whether sourced directly from Kobo itself or through third parties.

Despite the current Australian government initiatives to make local prices for electronic goods fall into line with levels elsewhere, the Kobos look likely to debut at levels close to those in North America. The basic A$99 ($89) price of the Kobo Touch compares to a typical $87.50 in the U.S. According to the new report from the Australian House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Communications, IT and consumer electronics hardware averages 46 percent more expensive in Australia than in comparable markets in the West. E-books, meanwhile, average 16 percent more expensive.

Interestingly, Amazon only finally started to ship the Kindle directly Down Under in May this year, despite the presence of over 22.3 million well-heeled English-reading Australians, and even now isn’t offering its full range. Kobo clearly is continuing with its well-tried plan of pushing into international markets that the Bezos behemoth hasn’t seriously got to grips with yet. And Canada’s finest doesn’t appear to be fazed by the Australian government moves against DRM and Big Media restrictions at all.

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Paul St John Mackintosh is a British poet, writer of dark fiction, and media pro with a love of e-reading. His gadgets range from a $50 Kindle Fire to his trusty Vodafone Smart Grand 6. Paul was educated at public school and Trinity College, Cambridge, but modern technology saved him from the Hugh Grant trap. His acclaimed first poetry collection, The Golden Age, was published in 1997, and reissued on Kindle in 2013, and his second poetry collection, The Musical Box of Wonders, was published in 2011.

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