Looks like well be waiting even longer for an R18+ rating

The NSW Attorney-General wont be there for the next SCAG meeting, so well just have to wait until the next meeting

John Hatzistergos, the NSW Attorney General has recently confirmed that he will not be attending this Marchs SCAG meeting as the meeting is coincidentally on at the same time as the NSW state elections. This meeting may just be the one that was going to decide whether or not Australia will get an R18+ rating for videogames.

To get an R18+ rating, all the Attorneys General need to unanimously agree to the introduction of this rating. So if just one person disagrees, then we have to wait until the next SCAG meeting for another decision. So if one Attorney General cant make it altogether, then all hope of a unanimous decision is gone.

NSW Attorney General, the Hon. John Hatzistergos, MLC

Late last year, one of the most anticipated events in Australian gaming history turned out to be a disappointment. The SCAG meeting that may well have decided whether we would get the R18+ rating for videogames we so desperately needed was hotly anticipated not only by gamers, but by mainstream press as well, with R18+ stories being shown on current affair programs in prime-time timeslots.

However, after all the petitions, polls and pro-R18+ coverage, the decision was made that… well, there was no decision. They decided that they needed more time to think about the decision and postponed it to March. But now that we know we will not be getting a decision in March our next hope is in a years time at the next SCAG meeting in March 2011, which is the deadline for the R18+ proposal. So if it doesnt happen then, then we could be looking at a future with no R18+ rating for videogames.

It has recently been reported that both the ACT and TAS Attorney Generals support the introduction of an R18+ rating, as do the majority of the people living in Australia.

Source: GameSpotAU