Aussie government missing chance to bolster Games industry

Mike Bantick
Friday, 05 October 2007 12:04

Opinion and Analysis

The GDAA obviously were expecting negative response to their call for rebate action in the Video game industry,  They have set in motion a call for interested parties to provide weight to the industry claims.

Mr Bondar explains, “We will now go to the streets and call for the support of all our members and the game developers and gamers themselves to get behind this initiatives. We have created an online petition and are asking everyone to phone, mail or email their local federal member of Parliament and the Minister Helen Coonan, to express their dissatisfaction that the industry has been repeatedly ignored by government. Let’s hope that this makes the politicians listen and give our industry the support it so desperately needs.”

“We are a young, vibrant industry that is punching far above its weight when it comes to making a contribution to the economy. Yet, in order to continue growing and competing on the world stage, we urgently need the support of our Federal Government by way of a 40% rebate for the game development industry,” he added.

The Game Developers’ Association of Australia is angered by the fact that the industry’s potential to become a significant employer is also being thwarted by the lack of government assistance.

“It’s time for the government to pull their heads out of the sand and see exactly what this great, creative and innovative industry can do and the share of the global economy that we could have if we just had the incentive of a ‘rebate carrot’ to entice publishers to our shores.”

The GDAA conservatively estimate that the number of people directly employed in the video game industry could increase to 18,000 by 2010.

“We are looking at a large increase in jobs, in skills and economic contributions on so many levels and more than that, the potential for Australia to be positioned as a hub for game development around the world. Without the same sort of financial support as the government is giving to the Australian film industry, it is not going to be possible for us to kick these goals and compete with other countries like Canada and China where the governments provide rebates to publishing houses,” he added.

The global interactive games industry today rakes in over AU$40 billion per year globally, which is considerably more than that Hollywood box office makes in the same time. With many of the films of today - Star Wars, The Matrix and Titanic amongst them – being created by a computer rather than ‘on set’, there is very little distinction between film and software.

“It’s a disgrace to think that just because they don’t understand and perhaps don’t want to understand exactly how significant this industry currently is and the potential that it has, that government are in effect boycotting an entire industry as a result of ignorance.”

“All other content industries today receive government assistance with the exception of the games industry. So now we, along with all our members, industry colleagues and gamers will show the government just how much we want them to put us on a level playing field. It’s now game on!” he concluded.

Game on! It’s time to tell the politicians that we want to level the playing field

To find out the name of your local member, visit http://www.aph.gov.au/house/members/index.htm

To send an email direct to Senator Helen Coonan, the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

To send a letter to your electorate office, post to:

Level 7, Angel Place
123 Pitt Street
Sydney NSW 2000
GPO Box 3513
Sydney NSW 2001

For more information, visit http://www.gdaa.com.au/petition.html