R18+ lobby form party to challenge SA's Atkinson

James Riley
Friday, 20 November 2009 08:43

IT Policy - Government Tech Policy

A 30-year-old game development executive from Melbourne has taken South Australian Attorney General Michael Atkinson at his word and has formed a party to run candidates at the state election next March to push the R18+ classification issue.

And the Gamers4Croydon party is not only trying to unseat Atkinson. It will run candidates for the Upper House as well as several key marginal seats, according to founder David Doe.

The Attorney General compared the gamers' challenge to that of a declared candidate in Croydon called 'Bear', who will contest the seat for the "bikie-gang-backed" Free Australia party.

Mr Atkinson has issued several "invitations" this year to critics of his stand against reforming the games classification regime to include an adult R18+ rating to run against him at the next election. Most recently issued the challenge in a six-page letter to a member of the public who had written to oppose the Attorney General’s stand.

Doe took up the challenge, drove to Adelaide and stood in the city's shopping mall on Rundle Street and with the help of publicity from gaming websites started collecting the 150 signatures needed to form a party.

The Gamers4Croydon party is now rushing to getting its application through the electoral commission – a six week process – before the March 20 election is called. Premier Mike Rann can call it up to 55 days before this date.

Doe told iTWire as soon as Gamers4Croydon – apparently a play on words of the controversial Left4 Dead game title – gets it party status, its caucus will begin its preselection process.

The party has already kicked off an online fund-raising effort through its website, and Doe – and executive at games development house Firemint – has taken annual leave to kick off the organisation of its campaign effort.

Doe says the party will make a different in Croydon. But it is in the Legislative Council that the party will carry more weight, he says.

Mr Atkinson told iTWire he expects the gamers to send preferences against him, but is nonetheless unconcerned, and says he expects constituents to support his stand against adult games.

"The voters of Croydon will now be asked directly whether they want interactive games in which gamers score points by raping a mother and daughter, blowing themselves up in a market, torturing human figures, maximizing blood splatter in the course of killing people and taking drugs to improve their sporting prowess," Mr Atkinson told iTWire.
 
"This candidate will join will join the bikie-gang-backed “Bear” running for the Free Australia party."
 
"With 16 weeks until polling day I have no Liberal or Green opponent. I presume my R18+ gamer opponent and my bikie-backed opponent will be directing preferences to the Greens and then the Liberals, when they find candidates," the Attorney General said.

Doe told iTWire the Games4Croydon party would clearly focus on the classification system during the campaign, but said it was not a single-issue party. It has positions on renewable energy, Green manufacturing, and sustainable business policy.

As an initial publicity foray, the party's Facebook page is highlighting the release of the spectacularly successful Modern Warfare 2 game – which is rated in Australia as MA15 but has attracted an 18 rated in other countries around the world.