New Australian Political For South Australia?
Come next years state election in South Australia, gamers may have a chance to vote for someone on their side. 30 year old gamer, David Doe, has grown tired of the way gamers are insulted with the lack of an R18+ rating and is stepping into the political ring.
The Gamers 4 Croydon party (taking inspiration for their name from Left 4 Dead) plans to contest the seat held by Attorney-General (and the guard of the R18+ rating) Michael Atkinson in the Labor Safe area of Croydon.
Doe has stated the reason for doing this is "to place political pressure on the South Australian Attorney General, Michael Atkinson, as he is currently the only Attorney General voting 'no' on the issue of an R18+ rating for videogames"
In order to register as a political party, Doe needs 150 Gamers 4 Croydon members who are over 18, enrolled to vote and live in South Australia.
If you are in Adelaide, fit the criteria and are interested in the issue, why not head down to Rundle Mall between 5.30pm and 6.30pm today. He will be standing near the "balls."
Kotaku Australia posted an exclusive interview with Doe this morning. It's a really good read, so I suggest you give it the once over.
He states that the reason for doing this was he had "seen enough “Down with Atkinson” threads over the past few years" and that "it was time to actively DO something" about it.
He also brings up a point that I agree with. "That said (and I’m not going to be Mr Popular after this), I think that the Classification Board does an outstanding job. I agree with their decision to Refuse Classification for Left 4 Dead 2 on the grounds that it is graphically violent. This isn’t about the board, it’s about the lack of an R18+ rating that effectively hamstrings what the Board can and can’t classify."
I think this point a lot of people tend to mix up. The board operates under strict rulings, and as such the ban for Left 4 Dead 2 on the grounds of being graphically violent is valid as it does not fit under the MA15+ rating. The question that remains is "Would it have been allowed if we had an R18+ rating?"
