The man taking over the post of South Australian Attorney-General from Michael Atkinson isn’t sure yet if he supports the introduction of an R18+ rating for computer and video games. But he isn’t ruling it out either.
John Rau was named as Attorney-General following Michael Atkinson’s surprise retirement after winning his seat of Croydon at the South Australian election in March.
While Rau himself made no statement on the R18+ issue at the time, Chris Prior of Gamers 4 Croydon tweeted what gamers around the country had hoped to hear: that Rau was indeed a supporter of an R18+ classification.
“New SA Attorney-General is John Rau, a supporter or the R18+ classification for games (and a nice guy, to boot),” Prior wrote back in late March.
But in a statement yesterday to Gamespot, Rau has distanced himself from such claims.
“I have no preconceptions about this issue and intend to listen to the arguments. I can neither support nor wisely argue against a position if I am not aware of the relevant factors.
“It is worth noting that ultimately, the decision does not rest with me alone. Any change would require the support of each jurisdiction’s attorney-general.”
Which is fair enough. Having just completed a period of public consultation on this very issue, neither Rau nor any politician would want to pre-empt the eventual decision of the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General… whenever that meeting eventuates.
UPDATE: The Age is reporting that the issue of games classification will be “on the agenda” at the next SCAG meeting on May 7. However, this does not mean a decision on an R18+ rating will be made on that date.
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