Atkinson successor chosen within two weeks
New South Australian attorney-general to replace anti-game activist Michael Atkinson to be decided "in a week or two"; Atkinson quit front bench post to "spend more time with his family."
Last weekend's South Australian state election saw Labor politician Michael Atkinson easily retain his seat of Croydon despite a significant swing, much to the dismay of many gamers who see him as the only person standing in the way of the introduction of an R18+ rating for video games in Australia. That dismay soon turned to cautious optimism quickly, however, with news that Atkinson would be relinquishing his position on the Labor Government's front bench, effectively ending his reign as attorney-general.
Atkinson was the only one of Australia's state and federal attorneys-general to publicly state his opposition to the R18+ rating for games, the introduction of which requires the unanimous agreement of all attorneys-general. With Atkinson now out of his position, attention has now turned to his possible replacement and his replacement's stance on gaming. GameSpot AU contacted the South Australian Attorney-General's office, with a spokesman confirming that Atkinson had indeed relinquished his post. As for the new minister, the spokesman said: "That is for caucus to decide. It will probably be in about a week or two."
"It is true that Michael Atkinson will not run for the Attorney-General cabinet. He won his seat [in Croydon] very comfortably. Mr. Atkinson has made this decision by himself. He wants to spend more time with his family as he has been here for 21 years and he wants to give younger backbenchers a shot in cabinet. He will retire from Parliament in 2014," the spokesman said.
While the Liberal Opposition in South Australia had still not conceded defeat in the weekend's elections, most political pundits are confident that Labor will retain power in the state.
While Atkinson suffered a significant swing of 11.6 percent against him in Croydon, it's unclear how much of that can be attributed to his long-standing feud with the gaming community in Australia. Gamers4Croydon--the political party set up to specifically oppose Atkinson--scored only 3.7 percent of the vote in Atkinson's electorate. While this was more than Family First or the Democrats, Gamers4Croydon's vote was well below Atkinson's, who polled 64.5 percent of total votes after preferences.
GameSpot AU will have more on the South Australian election as news breaks. For more on video game classification in Australia, check out GameSpot AU's Aussie Games Classification FAQ feature.
Hot Stories
Newsmakers
-
Biden: No legal problem with taxing violent games
United States Vice President Joe Biden believes there is no legal restriction on ability to tax violent media. Full Story
- Posted May 14, 2013 5:50 am AEST
-
Just Cause dev promises 'holy f**king sh**' moments in future games
Avalanche Studios co-founder says developer's ambition is for action, not moments that make players cry; steampunk-style game on hold. Full Story
- Posted May 15, 2013 11:33 pm AEST
Featured Stories
-
Bungie shoots down Destiny for PS Vita rumor
Developer confirms image suggesting version of upcoming shared-world shooter in development for Sony's latest portable is a fake. Full Story
- Posted May 16, 2013 10:08 pm AEST
-
Ubisoft planning to release games more frequently
Assassin's Creed and Far Cry publisher says its network of 26 studios and over 7,000 developers will allow company to ship major franchises more regularly. Full Story
- Posted May 16, 2013 9:42 pm AEST
-
Metro: Last Light dev responds to workplace conditions claims
4A Games creative director Andrew Prokhorov thanks Jason Rubin for telling the studio's story, but says, "We deserve the ratings we get." Full Story
- Posted May 17, 2013 5:44 am AEST
-
EA opens DICE LA to make Star Wars games
DICE head would also like to poach top talent from rivals Infinity Ward and Treyarch. Full Story
- Posted May 15, 2013 8:28 pm AEST
-
EA dropping Online Passes - Report
Future EA games won't require Online Passes; the service is being scrapped after tepid player response. Full Story
- Posted May 16, 2013 1:28 pm AEST






