South Australia Attorney-General Michael Atkinson, for some time the only opposition to introducing a R18+ classification for video games in the country, announced over the weekend that he was resigning from his position as Attorney-General immediately. Holding his position as MP for over 20 years, Atkinson will step down fully at the end of his term in 2014, his role a backseat one in the interim.
In Australia's system, changes to censorship law require the unanimous consent of all the country's Attorney-Generals, and Atkinson has long been the only hold-out to updating the ratings to be more in-line with the rest of the world. As a result, Australia lacks a classification criteria beyond 15+, so any games that would be rated higher than this are refused classification and prohibited from being sold.
While this doesn't signal that a reversal is imminent, Atkinson has maintained his refusal in defiance of the clear will of his constituents and the rest of Australia, so hopefully his replacement will be a bit more respectful. With his party also losing their majority in the election this past weekend, it's a good sign to hope for as far as gamers are concerned. Soon enough Australia might not have to worry about "banned games" the way it has in the past.
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