South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson says the upcoming state election will see a “real contest” in his seat of Croydon. Atkinson has also taunted Gamers 4 Croydon – the pro R18+ party challenging him – by predicting they will engage in “criminal activities and dirty tricks” during the campaign.
Speaking to Gamespot, Atkinson took several pot shots at Gamers 4 Croydon and party founder David Doe, pointing out that the party has yet to name a candidate 60 days out from the election and that “their website is full of memorabilia but not much else.”
He then fell ever-so-slightly short of accusing gamers of being criminals.
“I assume the Gamers4Croydon campaign will involve criminal activities and dirty tricks, which is what I’ve come to expect from gamers,” Atkinson said.
“But that’s not to say I’m not treating this seriously; I’m out there working on the basis that this is a real contest.”
Doe told Gamespot he wasn’t surprised by Atkinson’s remarks.
“It’s a completely ridiculous statement. This is a serious issue and we’re running a serious campaign. We don’t need to use dirty tricks.”
Read more of the verbal stoush at the link below.
Atkinson slams Gamers 4 Croydon [Gamespot]
Anthony Bates
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 1:15 PMCome on South Aussies vote this ALP idiot out.
Foxbane
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 1:19 PMCriminal activities and dirty tricks like what? rigging elections, drive by shootings? and more to the point how many “gamers” has he actually met.
Greg
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 1:25 PMwell you can blame the psychos who send him death threats for that one
GaaaaaH
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 1:27 PMWell, to be fair we have learnt how to perform those actions from our murder simulations.
Greg
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 2:04 PMyea and im an expert hostage negotiator form my experiences in mass effect
Dean
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 3:33 PMI remember him saying once that his children were gamers, so…
Michael Barnes
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 1:20 PMHonestly, this guy is just a jerk. He really is. I bet the only reason he got a wife was because of his job/money because look at that goddamn face and teeth.
Aaron Thomas
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 2:24 PMrofl, good call greg :)
Alex Sharples
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 1:21 PMThis guy just keeps digging himself a bigger hole. It seems he is on a personal vendetta now and no longer interested in the politics.
upandatthem
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 1:23 PMcoming from a guy who’s more than once been involved in fraud scandals, I think his accusations a bit rich
Novangel
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 1:27 PMFirst he says he’ll like some challenge, now he’s doing this, vote this retard out.
boo goose
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 1:28 PMTime to ask Saint Jude to do his lost cause thing?? I hope the wicked Mick of the south loses by one vote.
Aliasalpha
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 1:30 PMCRIMINAL? Mr Atkinson, you have just lost any respect I had for you.
Formerly I was able to at least think you were doing what you genuinely believed was right. I thought that you just needed to think a bit more deeply to understand why you were on the wrong path and you could then refocus your efforts onto some sort of social improvement program that would really help people. Now with this statement of blanket and baselss vilification, I think you are truly beyond hope.
Sir, you disappoint me. You truly are a politician.
Andrew
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 1:33 PM“I assume the Gamers4Croydon campaign will involve criminal activities and dirty tricks, which is what I’ve come to expect from gamers,”
This exactly the backwards arse thinking that is the reason we don’t have a R rating. Why should some guy that clearly has no idea what he’s talking about be able to speak for the masses when the masses obviously and vocally don’t agree with him?. Shouldn’t it be a sign that you’re wrong when the public has said they actually want the rating and people are going so far as to get you voted out of office to get their way?, and the only people that actually agree with you are the right wing groups that stereotype all gamers as criminals.
Atkinson is the worst kind of politician, one that is so stubborn that he can’t even fathom the possibility that his opinion is incorrect. What I don’t understand is why he won’t just give us the R rating, it’s a political win-win. I’m willing to bet if he stepped up and said he actually listened to the people and is changing his stance on games he you probably gain the respect of gamers and maybe even their vote.
Gobbo
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 1:34 PMIn a case of fighting fire with fire (which doesn’t solve anything, but is amusing nonetheless), couldn’t G4C retalliate with something along the lines of:
“I assume the Atkinson campaign will involve paedophilia and viagra, which is what I’ve come to expect from grumpy old men,”
Ross Edwards
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 1:44 PMGOLD!
Rob Hay
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 1:35 PMwhat a tool.
SA’ns dont vote for this fool… with his snide demeanor and redico teeth he is nothing more than a decrepit hack who isnt interested in giving Australians what they want but more interested in maintaining what “he” thinks is ‘moral australia’.
Out of touch Atkinson. out. of. touch. And hopefully out of a job soon! :)
glennc
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 1:40 PMwhat planet is this guy living on? he really does show his ignorance with this comment.
Anonymous
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 1:41 PMThis is the only time I’ll ever say this – I wish I lived in SA – just so I could vote for Gamers 4 Croyden. Ok, now that’s over…
Luke
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 1:41 PMThis guy isnt winning friends with gamers by basicaly calling us gamers violent criminals and resorting to dirty tactics. I dont think he realises how big issue is by not having a R18+ classification is in this country. Go Gamers4croydon, If i lived in the Croydon area you would get my vote to get rid of this idiot who is treating this situation like its a big joke.
EzyLee
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 1:42 PMCriminal activities? I for one would be interested in seeing, in dot point form, what characteristics he thinks of when he is talking about the general gaming community.
I am assuming he thinks we are all doll bludger’s, drug users and robbers who are looking at a quick buck so we can get the latest heavily censored release.
Not long ago, Mr. Atkinson replied to Kotaku users when we made fun of his appearance. This was pretty tame considering high profile newspapers employ cartoonists to do this sort of thing every day. Like 99.9% of gamers, I am a hard working honest citizen. Now for Mr. Atkinson to come out and label gamers as ‘engaging in criminal activities’, this is offensive.
WiseHacker
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 3:00 PMWhat gamers is he talking about?
I get the feeling he has only researched the likes of Michael Carneal and stopped there.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Carneal
Alex Portlock
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 4:50 PMEven in the case of Carneal, the case against video games was dismissed:
“The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that it was “simply too far a leap from shooting characters on a video screen to shooting people in a classroom.”"
Stevo
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 1:50 PMwhat a knob.
Mr Explody
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 1:52 PMHe’s right on one point though. Gamers4Croydon do need to elect a candidate. It’s getting dangerously close to the election and they’ll need to start pulling together campaign material with the candidates face on it.
David Wildgoose
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 2:04 PMStay tuned…
Mr Explody
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 2:41 PMIn other news a video games news website journalist, David Wildgoose, has been named as the Gamers4Croydon running candidate. Mr Wildgoose was quoted as saying “I’m very excited to be taking part in criminal activity and dirty tricks.”
David Wildgoose
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 2:50 PMVery good.
Gobbo
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 2:56 PM*golf clap*
WiseHacker
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 3:01 PMHas Wildgoose really nominated himself or am I reading a light hearted joke as a fact?
Mr Explody
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 4:04 PMIn no way is my comment based on truth (that I’m aware of). It was a light hearted joke.
Having said that, that’s not to say it won’t come true.
Chris Prior
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 5:53 PMEven if David where interested, there’d be a massive conflict of interest. Which (cynically) might not be such an issue for certain other political parties, but would be for G4C.
He just knows he’s getting a press release soon.
Chris Prior
Gamers4Croydon
I game, I vote.
Sagarat
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 1:55 PMIt is interesting to see Atkinson “working on the basis that this is a real contest” by insulting his opponent, and using sleazy ad hominem attacks.
Way to show your true colors, Atkinson.
Michael Cohen
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 4:42 PMIsn’t that what politicians do though?
Ben!!
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 1:58 PMThis criminal remark…it wouldn’t have anything to do with the death threats you received, would it? I’d be a little more scared of bikie gangs than us gamers..
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to kill a prostitute.
Tom
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 2:01 PMWoah, he’s put his foot in the hornet’s nest with that statement.
What a childish, ridiculous, ill-informed thing to say. He’s lost his political focus and is stooping to low level trash talking, showing that he is a little scared somewhere deep under that facade of his.
Simon Hutchinson
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 2:03 PMNext stop Civil Court to sue Atkinson for defamation
He has defamed the political party without proof or evidence. That is political suicide most of the time if proven and costs people lots of money.
They seriously should consider this, it would bring major press coverage.
Tezz
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 2:17 PMyou are definitely right, maybe all the gamers of australia should get together and sue atkinson for defemation.
Chris Prior
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 2:42 PMIf legal action were successful against him, the money would just be charged to the people of South Australia, as happened the last time he was sued for defamation.
jim
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 2:06 PMIt’s nothing new to say that kind of rubbish from a Labor Party politician. In Victoria the ALP rub the dirtiest, personal, mudslinging campaigns.
crotchdot
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 2:10 PMSeems like yet another rant designed to anger gamers and incite abuse of him in forums, which he then uses as evidence that videogames make you violent. Kind of sounds like one of those “dirty tricks” he mentioned.
Steve
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 2:13 PMI’ve been dumbfounded by Atkinson before – many times – but this is perhaps the first time that I have been genuinely offended.
mount-eerie
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 5:14 PMSeconded.
I don’t mean to sound like a prude but, I was genuinely offended and surprised by that statement.
Surely by now, after dealing with several gaming media sites, receiving (mostly) mature letters and the fact a serious political party has been able to have been organized without collapsing in on itself. He’d realize not all of us are petty criminals.
He is obviously intentionally lying, deluded or just a complete moron.
My bet is some combination of the three.
Tezz
Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 2:15 PMAtkinson, you sir are a fine example of a bigot.
A group advocating for the legalisation of illegal drugs, can be swung towards criminal activity (not saying that it should)… but gamers, seriously, how in god’s name can you make that assumption.
You’re the type of person who sees a man playing with a kid screams pedophile, even if the man is the kid’s father.
Insulting a very large group of people, which add a shite load of money to the econemy, is stupid.