Why Aussie R18+ decision won't come soon

The debate over Australia's lack of an adult classification for video games rages on. Despite an overwhelmingly positive response to the government's national public consultation into the issue in December last year, little progress has been made in the past 12 months. Classification ministers are yet to be convinced that the introduction of an R18+ classification--something that would put Australia in line with other Western nations--warrants any kind of concern.

Most Aussies have shown support for R18+ so far.

Most would argue that having a unified, fair, and consistent classification scheme should be of national priority, but so far this issue has been largely met with indifference on the part of the government and classification ministers. They do not believe that enough Australians care about video game classification in order to take the issue seriously and so continue to find new methods of stalling and deliberation when it is brought up. Of the 59,678 submissions received as part of the public consultation process, 98 per cent wrote in support of an R18+ classification. One needs only to look at the diversity of those in support, from the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association to the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, to be convinced that there is a very large, unified voice crying out for the correct classification of content and the abolishment of censorship. Instead, gamers are being told to back off. They are being told that despite the fact that they are gamers, and this is a gaming issue, their opinion is irrelevant. What the government needs to know before it can be convinced, it seems, is the opinion of the nongaming public.

Gaming demographics are expanding every day, and Australia is no exception. Young and old, male and female, gamers are no longer a minority--these days, most people game in one form or another. GameSpot Australia's view is that this is an issue that concerns a majority of Australians. Gamer or not, everyone recognises the importance of correctly classifying content and the right of adults to make their own informed decisions about the content they consume.

GameSpot's opinion is supported by different community groups, each for their own reasons. In the R18+ public consultation, the Australian Catholic Bishops said that while they preferred that R18+ material not be made available in Australia, a classification is warranted to restrict access to such material, particularly by children. Other groups such as the Interactive Games & Entertainment Association Ltd (iGEA) and Media Classifiers' Association of Australia pointed to a lack of conclusive scientific evidence that violent media causes or triggers violent behaviour. A large number of respondents also made similar comments in the "free text" option of the public consultation--more than 2,000 people said that a lack of an R18+ classification for video games restricts the civil liberties of adult gamers and leads to the incorrect classification of content.

Yet while it's clear that submissions came from a variety of groups representing different communities and interests, Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor continues to believe that because there was too little interest from "nongamers," classification ministers should seek even more views before beginning to think about changing the national classification scheme to include R18+ for games.

This is what O'Connor terms "the silent majority"--nongamers who are likely to care too little about this issue to ever contact their local member and tell them that an adult classification for games really is needed, and could we please hurry up and get one. Yet the urgency is real. The lack of an R18+ classification leads the Australian Classification Board to make inconsistent decisions when rating adult content. Games that should be rated R18+ are slumped into the MA15+ category, meaning Australian 15-year-olds are consuming content reserved for 18-year-olds in other countries. The introduction of an R18+ for games would provide a better set of guidelines to the Australian Classification Board, who would finally be able to draw a very real line between content suitable only for 15-year-olds and content suitable only for 18-year-olds and above.

Another problem is the requirement that all classification ministers must be in unanimous agreement to introduce R18+ for games. This current system is too stringent. A difference in opinion from one minister to another, more often than not based on personal beliefs and prejudices (such as former South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson, who blocked the introduction of R18+ for games because he didn't want his children playing violent video games) means this issue is discussed on a personal level, not a national level. What is in the best interests of the Australian public turns into what is in the best interests for each classification minister, which ultimately means R18+ for games has little hope of ever becoming a reality.

Censorship ministers will meet again on December 10 to discuss what comes next in this overly drawn-out process. It appears gamers have now done everything they can. It is now up to the nongaming Australian public to voice their opinion and support the abolishment of censorship and the modernisation of Australia's archaic classification laws.

For more on games classification, check out GameSpot AU's Classification FAQ.