Buried in the ACT’s recently released state budget for 2012-2013 is a brand new initiative — an initiative designed to monitor and report retailers who will be selling R18+ video games when the proposed classification comes into full effect, hopefully at some point in 2012.
According to the budget, $121,000 will be set aside in 2012-2013, with that figure increasing across the subsequent three years: $133,000 in 2013-2014, $135,000 in 2014-2015, and $137,000 in 2015.2016. It could be the case that this initiative is a constant one.
According to the budget, this initiative is designed to “facilitate” the “inspection of outlets expected to be providing R18+ video games for sale or hire”, and to help with “mandatory reporting to the Commonwealth Government on inspection and enforcement activity within the classifications sphere”.
Interesting, for nothing else but the fact that the ACT State Government expects the R18+ classification to come into effect in this coming year — else why allocate almost the same amount of funds allocated to the program in subsequent years.
It also gives us an insight into the close attention government will be paying to the R18+ rating for video games in the next four years. It’s not specific to games — there are similar inspectors in other areas of media, specifically porn. If anything, it’s proof that state government is taking the R18+ rating seriously, and that, pretty soon, it’s going to be a very real thing.
Thanks Ryan!
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