R18+ headed for Australian parliament

Last month, new Federal Minister for Home Affairs Jason Clare announced his intentions to stick to former Federal Minister for Home Affairs Brendan O'Connor's previous plans regarding the introduction of an adult classification for video games in Australia.

Clare stated that he intended to follow O'Connor's decision to introduce the R18+ bill in the February 2012 session of parliament.

It appears that Clare stayed true to this plan, with news today that the R18+ legislation has been cleared by the Federal Parliamentary Caucus of the Australian Labor Party at its meeting in Canberra, and it is now ready to be introduced in parliament.

Federal parliament resumed on February 7. In order for the R18+ bill to be passed through the Lower House (House of Representatives), Clare's office says it requires the support of at least two crossbench MPs. The crossbench MPs are Rob Oakeshott, Tony Windsor, Andrew Wilkie, Bob Katter, and Greens MP Adam Bandt, who have remained silent on their stance over R18+ to date.

To pass through the Senate, the bill will require the support of either the coalition or the Greens, both of which are sympathetic to the R18+ issue; in November 2010, Federal Opposition Shadow Attorney-General George Brandis voiced his sympathy towards the R18+ cause, while the Greens have showed their support in the past.

GameSpot AU will continue to update this story.