New SA Attorney General open to R18+ rating

Knew it. The labor government gets its 3rd term in power and it wants a smooth few months ahead before real difficult issues arise. We have a new Hospital, $450M upgrade to Adelaide Oval (for AFL and FIFA compliance) and heaps of other big budget items. The last thing they want is for something as simple and as straightforward as the R18+ issue to still be a torn in their sides. Thats why Atkinson was told to resign and Rau will be told to keep his head down in the short term.

This will get rubber stamped within 3 months imo.

Politics eh.

Atkinson didn't step down because of the R18+ issue but I think you're right in that it has proved to be more of a distraction than some anticipated, so a new approach to classification in the coming term will mean there's one less thing for the SA Government to worry about.

According to that article the next A-G ministerial council is in late April. If the standing committee for censorship convenes during that minco (which it should) then we'll probably know straight after that whether there's a consensus to amend the legislation or if a new stick-in-the-mud pops their head up.

If you get to keep your job (I'm sure your invaluable) keep us posted with any inside info you come across

This is a great little summary...

When I was in Adelaide, the advertiser had a small peice saying that the ACL had been assured that the new attorney general would maintain the stance on R18+ video games. I found it interesting because the newspaper seemed to be very happy about it.

Being used to the semi-pornographic tabloidism of the NT News, the Advertiser comes out looking like a Church pamphlet.

R18+ Discussion Delayed Once Again | Kotaku Australia

Lazy good for nothin bums the lot of em.

AU Senator Makes Plea for R18+ Before Parliament | GamePolitics

Kate Lundy, Senator from the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), and a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), (the same party as game hating ex-Attorney General Michael Atkinson), stood up in front of Parliament and argued for the introduction of an R18+ videogame rating.

Senator Lundy tabled, or proposed for consideration, a pro-R18+ petition sponsored by retailer GAME and the organization Everyone Plays which featured 89,210 signatures backing the adult videogame rating.

Stating that R18+ ?is not a decision to be made by the Government,? but that ?it is a decision that requires agreement among the Federal and State Attorneys General around the nation,? Lundy cited three key factors for the introduction of R18+.

The Senator stated that the lack of an R18+ rating creates a ?grey area? for parents and that the new rating tier would allow Australia ?to catch up with the rest of the world,? which she called a ?significant issue? for game developers and publishers.

She continued:

With many games originally developed for an adult audience, this represents an additional burden for our Australian games sector. As a result, many of these games are simply banned for sale or distribution in Australia as a result giving rise to the temptation of overseas purchase, or worse, illicit distribution in Australia.

Lastly, Lundy argued that the government should listen to the people, citing the petition, a research paper indicating that 91 percent of the entire AU population supports R18+ and the backing of ACT Attorney General Simon Corbell, who believes that the R18+ classification would ?ensure that games with adult content are sold only to adults and that the purchasers are fully aware of the content of the games.?

Shes a good'n that one.