Beattie joins chorus for R18+ games rating

James Riley
Monday, 05 July 2010 13:19

IT Policy - Regulation

Former Queensland Premier Peter Beattie has joined the chorus of calls for the creation of an R18+ classification for computer games, saying it is naïve to believe that having no adult rating protects kids from adult gaming content.

Mr Beattie, who is now the Queensland Government's Los Angeles-based trade commissioner to North and South America, says an R18+ rating would be good for business - particularly for Australia's talented game development sector.

Having just attended the E3 consumer electronics show in LA, Mr Beattie said in a column for The Australian newspaper he was embarrassed about Australia's position on the ratings issue as the only Western country without an adult classification.

He has called on the Standing Committee of Attorney's General to "support sensible change."

"The video games industry is now a $70 billion annual global industry and last year Australians spent $2bn on video games," Mr Beattie said. "As a source of entertainment, video games are a global industry rivalling music and movies and cannot any longer be ignored by governments."

"The industry will only continue to grow, and rapidly. When you consider the growing number of Australians who depend on the gaming industry for their livelihood, its continued health is not a trivial issue."

Mr Beattie said not having an adult rating did not keep adult games out of the country, given the ease with which games can be downloaded over the internet, the strength of online stores and the ease with which pirated product can be circulated.

"Providing a classification of R18+ gives parents more information, to guide their choices and keep their children away from games with excessive violence, inappropriate language or sexually explicit material," he said.