Any Europeans in the market for L’Xbox Trois Cents et Soixante, could do worse than head on over/up/down/across to France to pick one up. Hell, given recent political developments even Americans may be able to hop on over without having to feign a Canadian accent.

Note that we have no idea how one would go about getting the rebate if you don’t live in France. Please don’t blame us if you waste hundreds of dollars on the airfare and get stiffed. Paris is nice at this time of year, at least.

La Xbox 360 à partir de 139 Euros ! [Jeuxvideo - thanks to reader Legandalf for the tip]

Okay, it’s so-so news. There’s no guarantee that anything will happen under a Labor Government – a committee is something you form before a war, not during. However, we know conclusively that nothing will happen if the Coalition is re-elected, and for those hunting desperately for even a foal’s chance of a rebate, this is as good as it’s going to get.

You can read the full release after the jump.

MELBOURNE – Monday 22 October, 2007 – Senator Conroy, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, announced this morning that he would establish a high level committee to review the GDAA’s call for a 40% tax rebate for the games industry in Australia if Labor is elected to government.

Senator Conroy met with representatives from the Game Developers’ Association of Australia and CEOs from some of Australia’s major game development companies to discuss the GDAA’s plea for the 40% rebate recently announced for Australia’s film and television industries to be extended to local video game developers.

CEO of the Game Developers’ Association of Australia (GDAA) Greg Bondar said of the Senator’s announcement, “We have been trying for years to get the Australian government to listen to us and recognise the significant contribution that our industry makes to the Australian economy and the potential we have for substantial growth in our industry if we were to benefit from the same sort of rebate as is offered to the Australian film industry.”

“We are thrilled that Senator Conroy is prepared, should Labor be elected to government, to take the time to assess our industry and give sound consideration to our call for a rebate. This is a positive step forward for our industry.”

GDAA President Tom Crago called for the Australian government to reconsider their refusal to extend the rebate to the video game industry. “We want the Government to take another look. This is exactly the type of industry they should be supporting in that it is high growth, highly skilled and almost entirely export focused. We also think it’s about time they recognised the contribution that video games makes to the broader cultural landscape in Australia.”

Senator Conroy met with Gregory Bondar, CEO of the GDAA, Tom Crago, GDAA President and CEO of Tantalus Interactive, Chris Moseley, GDAA Treasurer and CEO of Redtribe and a number of other CEOs including Mike Fegan of IRGurus and Steve Fawkner of Infinite Interactive. The meeting also included a live demonstration for the Senator of some of the latest games being developed in Australia.

“It really is time for our current government to ‘get with it’ and accept just how big this industry is globally,” said Bondar. “We have a chance to make a name for ourselves on the world stage and win significant business if they back our industry in the same way that governments in China, Canada, France and South Korea are doing. It’s time for them to get in the game.”

Good on you to those who wrote to the Minister regarding the issue, and I sincerely hope you get a productive reply. Alas, judging from the letter Oz Kotakuite Martin received in response to his plea, my hopes have been dashed across the stones of uselessness and ignorance like a pair of old trousers.

Need more proof of the Government’s distain? From the letter (which was written by one of Minister Coonan’s advisors):

The Government’s Australian Screen Production Incentive, which was recently enacted, incorporates three components: Producer Offset; Location Offset; and Post, Digital and Visual (PDV) Offset. These … are paid against a production’s Qualifying Australian Production Expenditure (QAPE).

That’s great, but what the heck does it have to do with games?

While games are not eligible genres for the new offsets, this does not exclude game developers from providing content to eligible genres. For example, an Australian games developer could be contracted to provide content as a component of a film or television program. Such expenditure could be claimed as QAPE.

So essentially developers are screwed unless they’re creating a game for TV or film? The only situation I can imagine where this would actually happen is if a developer was willing to indulge in tax fraud. What if you’re making a game based on an Aussie film or show? Doesn’t look like that would cut it either.

All I can do is sigh… again. You can see the entire letter after the jump.