Man, this is getting tedious; every time an Australian politician with some intelligence promotes the addition of an 18+ rating for the land down under, some other moron voices his concern that doing so will usher in the end of Australia’s moral fibre.
The last time we touched on this subject, the country’s Home Affairs Minister, Brendan O’ Connor, was up in arms about the archaic rating system. That system frequently bars games from sale, and certifies others with a 15+ rating despite those same games receiving 18+ ratings in other countries. O’ Connor looked as if he was going to get things going in Australia; then the Victoria Attorney General Robert Clark opened his mouth.
For decisions that affect the whole of Australia, each of the country’s Attorney General’s have to unanimously agree to the change. This is what has held up the country’s addition of an 18+ rating for games.
Robert Clark (Victoria’s Attorney General) is now saying that the addition of an 18+ rating is a bad idea. This is likely a result of O’ Connor voicing his opinion on the matter a few weeks ago. According to Clark adding an 18+ rating “would legalize games with high levels of graphic, frequent and gratuitous violence, including violence against civilians and policeâ€.
Adding fuel to the opposition’s fire is Rob Ward, who is the director for the Australian Christian Lobby. He believes that the Australian Classification Board was “asleep at the wheel†when it handed out 15+ ratings to games that received ratings of 18+ in other countries. Ward maintains, however, that this blunder on behalf of the ACB is “not a reason to create an R18+ category. That’s a reason to clip them behind the earâ€. Yikes!
So for the time being it looks as if Australian gamers are right back where they started.
Source: Joystiq
Last Updated: April 5, 2011
