At the end of March, the states and territories’ attorneys-general and the Commonwealth will be considering allowing an R rating for adult content in games, which is about a zillion years overdue.
“The Attorney-General remains very firmly opposed to introducing an R rating for computer games in Australia,” the spokesperson said.
Minister Atkinson would not consider an 18+ rating even if there were measures to protect children from being exposed to adult content, the spokesperson said.
“He doubts whether any safeguards could be put in place to deter young people, who after all (are) the most computer literate and savvy in our society, from being able to access material.”
Ooh, here’s an neat idea for a great safeguard! It’s called RESPONSIBLE PARENTING. Using the excuse that parents don’t know what’s in these games is bollocks. We can trust parents to decide what films to buy, right? Using ratings? Reading reviews?
Last year, a study by Bond University for the IEAA found that more than 50 per cent of Australian gamers were aged over 18, making the average age 28.
Twenty-what? Not 18, not twelve, not eight. 28. Twenty frickin eight! That’s how old I’ll be at my next birthday. Here’s a link to a story about that Bond study — we also learn that by 2014 the average could be as high as 42 years old.
But nooo, you can’t have an R-rating, because grown up games might upset the kiddies.
We also see from that study that:
The report also found a healthy acceptance of games by parents. 77 per cent of parents play games with their children, while parents believe games teach children about technology (73 per cent), maths (68 per cent) and how to plan ahead (64 per cent).
77% play games with their children, but we can’t trust parents to read a plain English sticker on the box of a game that says ‘Contains violence,’ or read the manual that describes how to set the parental controls on the major consoles on the market today. Really? Really-really? Something is seriously wrong with this picture.
The discussion is to be had on March 28th at the next standing committee. If you’re concerned by this you should write to your state’s attorney general now and make your thoughts known to them. In fact, even if you completely disagree with me you should write to them anyway. Click each member’s name for contact details.
Western Australia
Victoria
Tasmania
South Australia
Queensland
Northern Territory
Dr Christopher Bruce Burns, MP
