Aussie R18+ decision deferred again

Three months ago, federal, state, and territory attorneys-general unanimously agreed to draft a set of preliminary guidelines for the introduction of an adult classification for video games in Australia.

Today, the guidelines were presented to censorship ministers at the Standing Committee of Attorneys General (SCAG) meeting in Wellington, New Zealand, but that's as far as the R18+ issue for video games progressed. With the New South Wales government currently in caretaker mode due to the upcoming state election, no vote could take place for the introduction of the rating. The earliest R18+ could possibly be introduced in Australia is at the next SCAG meeting, which is scheduled to take place in Adelaide on July 21 and 22.

Federal Minister for Home Affairs, Brendan O'Connor--whose department supports the introduction of R18+ for games--said, "I anticipate that my state and territory counterparts will further consider the draft guidelines and seek their Governments' position on an R 18+ classification before the next meeting in July."

The R18+ guidelines were drafted with the help of supporting evidence from a number of sources, including: the final results of the federal government's public consultation, which showed 98.4 percent of respondents supported the introduction of the adult classification for games; the federal government's R18+ classification review, which showed no conclusive link between violent games and aggressive behaviour; and the results of a nationwide Galaxy survey, which showed that 80 percent of the 2,226 people contacted supported the introduction of R18+ for games.

Last month, O'Connor told GameSpot AU he wasn't optimistic that attorneys-general would agree on a vote on R18+ for games until the next SCAG meeting in July, given the absence of New South Wales Attorney-General John Hatzistergos from this SCAG meeting due to the NSW state election, as well as the introduction of the new guidelines, which ministers will need time to digest before taking a final stance on R18+. However, he said he was keen to resolve things as quickly as possible.

"We need to resolve this issue one way or another," O'Connor told GameSpot AU in February. "From the federal government's point of view, we'd like the matter determined at the July SCAG meeting, regardless of which way it swings. We can't continue to go back and forth on this. I can only keep presenting the arguments, and by then, all the ministers will be present, and everyone will have had a good chance to look at the issue properly and determine a final position. I am determined to seek to get common ground among every minister to move ahead on this issue; in the end, the Commonwealth's position is that we need an R18+ classification for video games in this country. This is a sound argument insofar as doing the right thing and protecting minors; it is also a reasonable argument as it allows for adults to access material that is accessible by other adults in other countries; and it fits in with evolving changes in technology. So, [R18+ for games] is good public policy, and that's what I'll continue to say to people."

The next SCAG meeting is scheduled for July, 2011.

For more on the R18+ for games issue, visit GameSpot AU's previous coverage.