R18+ legislation prepared for Australian Parliament

Australian parliament resumed last week - and while that might not be an event of interest to the typical gamer, this year will be a little different, as we literally count down the days until legislation relating to the R18+ rating for video games is introduced.

The new Federal Minister for Home Affairs - Jason Clare - explains the Bill has already taken one giant leap forward, as it is cleared by the Federal Parliamentary Caucus of the Australian Labor Party.

Now, as Clare remains true to former Minister Brendan O'Connor's plan, the Bill will be introduced to parliament, which resumed February 7th.

It's not completely smooth sailing from here, however. The Bill must be supported by at least two crossbench MPs in order to pass through the House of Representatives (Lower House). That means the four independents - Bob Katter, Rob Oakeshott, Tony Windsor and Andrew Wilkie - plus Greens MP Adam Bandt must now make a decision. All five have kept quiet on the topic so far.

Once that's done, either the coalition or the Greens must throw their support behind the Bill for it to pass the Senate (Upper House). Both parties have previously been supportive of the issue, but it is still not a guaranteed success. Any amendments to the Bill at this stage would cause it to circle back to the Lower House and go through the same procedure again.

Things currently look quietly positive for the Bill - and for Australian gamers - but as with all things in politics, things won't move quickly. The R18+ legislation could still be a year or two off, according to experts.

5 Responses to “R18+ legislation prepared for Australian Parliament”

1. Australian 18+ Bill Is Imminent | PC Gaming! – Unit Lost says:

   February 14, 2012 at 8:05 am

   [...] thanks to some fairly old fashioned arses sitting in important seats, but things are looking up, as Player Attack has explained: Things currently look quietly positive for the Bill – and for Australian [...]

   Reply
2. Australian R18+ Bill Nears | ashspokemon.com says:

   February 14, 2012 at 10:22 am

   [...] 14, 2012 > @ 6:21 pm W&#1110th th&#1077 Australian Parliament back &#1110n session, Player Attack recaps th&#1077 issues surround th&#1077 legislation th&#1077&#1091 w&#1110ll take up t&#959 [...]

   Reply
3. Chad says:

   February 15, 2012 at 3:03 am

   Except now it’s gone to an inquiry… Yet another delay :/

   Reply
4. R18+ Category for Video Games in Australia Coming in 2013 | says:

   February 15, 2012 at 12:07 pm

   [...] IGN AU / Player Attack Tweet This entry was posted in News and tagged +R18 Rating, 2013, Australia, video games. [...]

   Reply
5. Australian inquiry recommends R18+ approval « Player Attack says:

   February 28, 2012 at 6:19 pm

   [...] February 15th, just after Minister for Home Affairs Jason Clare submitted the new classification Bill (see his guest blog on the topic), the federal Opposition turned around and asked that the bill be [...]

   Reply

Article Details

• published: February 13th, 2012
• by: Jessica Citizen
• in: Adam Bandt, Andrew Wilkie, Australia, Australian Labor Party, Australian R18+ Debate, Bob Katter, Brendan O'Connor, Jason Clare, Parliament, Politics, r18+, Rob Oakeshott, Tony Windsor, Westminster System
• comments: 5

Author Bio:

I like video games, fishing, Depeche Mode, long walks on the beach, writing discussion papers and cups of tea. Not necessarily in that order.

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