Australia's 18+ Rating A No Go
Published by: wes213 on Friday, October 31, 2008
First of all let me start with how sorry i am for the Australian gamers for this bad news, it wold seem the Australian parliament has a real hate for games that don't look and play like Nintendo made it so they have yet again dropped the idea of adding an 18+ rating.
EDGE-online reports: Australia will remain the only developed nation not to use an 18+ rating for games after a planned public consultation on the matter was shelved this week.
The introduction of an R18+ content classification for videogames in Australia has been in the planning stages for several months. In March, the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General had called for a discussion paper and public consultation on the matter. And while the initiative’s strongest objector, South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson, expressed his concerns with lifting the nation’s MA15+ rating, he had agreed in principal to debate the subject.
However it has emerged that Mr Atkinson has rejected plans to publish the results of the consultation, effectively ending the discussion process. MA15+ is now likely to remain Australia’s highest content classification bracket for videogames for some time. These restrictions mean that many adult-orientated games landing in Australia need to be toned down in order to be granted access into stores and supermarkets.
Recent titles such as GTAIV and Dark Sector have had to censor some of their content to be granted an MA15+ rating and find the shop shelves, whereas titles such as Fallout 3 have been entirely banned.
Mr Atkinson’s opinion on the matter is largely an isolated one. Most Australian Attorney-Generals, members of parliament and Senate members are in complete support of a new game rating. Yet the legislative process which could amend Australia's content classification system can only work with unanimous vote from all state and territory attorney-generals. Mr. Atkinson is therefore allowed to veto such an Act until his time as Attorney-General is over.
There is a building discontent within Australian parliament on the matter. Many politicians are simply embarrassed that they still need to be debating the issue. Hansard from the recent Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs shows a typical dispute in the upper echelons of Australian parliament, with deputy chair Senator Guy Barnett debating the issue with Assistant Secretary from the Classification Policy Branch Amanda Davies:
Senator Barnett: Some of us are dumbfounded as to why we do not have an R rating for video games. Can you share any argument as to why we do not?
Ms Davies: In order to make any changes to the classification code and guidelines, including introducing a new classification, you need to have unanimous agreement from all state and territory ministers and the Commonwealth minister. To date, that has not been obtained.
Senator Barnett: We have got a real problem here, haven’t we, because South Australia is opposing the position.
Ms Davies: The South Australian Attorney is on record on a number of occasions as opposing the introduction of an R18+ classification.
Senator Barnett: We have a real problem, and this is something the Senate and the parliament is going to have to address. If we have one state opposing this, South Australia, then clearly we are not going to have any R rating of video games. That simply cannot occur as a matter of course legally.
News-Source:
edge-online.com 
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