As expected the Standing Committee of Attorneys-General has not yet made a decision on the introduction of an R18+ classification for computer games. They have instead released a report containing preliminary figures and information about the public consultation that closed at the end of February. The report is available on the Attorney-General’s Department website.

The report shows that 98.2% of the submissions were in favour of the R18+ rating for games but Minister for Home Affairs Brendan O’Connor said that ministers had to also consider “the strength of the arguments on each side.”

‘Grow up Australia’ is mentioned often in the report and a pie chart indicates the number of submissions that were received via our website compared to other means. You can also see the clear success of EB Games in store petition.

The government has also released some of the submissions made by organisations including those made by the iGEA, ACL, EFA and ACCM.

Update: The group has now been restored to its previous state — thanks Facebook!

This morning, administrators of Grow up Australia’s Facebook group received a warning when they logged on to the website.

The group “Grow up Australia – R18+ Rating for Computer games”, of nearly 37,000 members, has been removed because it violated our Terms of Use.

While an R18+ classification for computer games in Australia may be considered a controversial issue, we do not believe that any of the content provided by the Administrators of the group in question could be deemed to violate the Terms of Use. Very rarely, an inappropriate comment would be posted by one of the members, however our group administrators have always been vigilant in moderating the group and removing any inappropriate posts or content.

We have regularly encouraged our members to report posts they deem to be inappropriate to Facebook, in the hope that Facebook would help us in removing offending posts that we are unable to deal with in a timely manner. The report function on Facebook’s site has been very useful in this regard.

We agree that Facebook needs to take an active role in removing groups that violate their Terms of Use, however we feel that they may have incorrectly reviewed our group as violating said terms. Currently, we are attempting to contact Facebook in regards to the issue, in hope to restore the group to its previous state.

In the interim we have created a fan page for our members to join.

You may also follow us for updates on Twitter.

In a radio interview on 2SER a Dr Christopher Ferguson has criticised the moral panic that is currently surrounding video games in Australia. (The interview can be listened to below.)

Last week Psychologist Dr Wayne Warburton was seen on Channel Ten claiming the link between video games and violent behavior is stronger than the link between smoking and lung cancer. According to the news report psychologists are claiming an “explosion in youth crime is inextricably linked to violent video games and other media.”

Earlier the same week the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) posted a media release on their website with the heading “Gaming industry mirrors ‘big tobacco’ in denial of violent gaming effects.” The ACL media release quotes a paper titled: Video game effects confirmed, suspected and speculative: A review of the evidence. One of the contributors to that paper is Craig Anderson who has often been criticised by his peers (notably Ferguson) for his methods.

Dr Christopher Ferguson has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Central Florida and is the co-author of: Much Ado About Nothing: The Misestimation and Overinterpretation of Violent Vido Game Effects in Eastern and Western Nations: Comment on Anderson et al. (2010)

The Channel Ten news report can be viewed here.

Media Release

The Attorney-General’s Department is set to receive an influx of submissions from people who support the introduction of an R18+ category for computer games into the Australian classification system. The submissions were made via an online form provided by Grow up Australia, an independent group advocating the introduction of an adults only rating for games.

Grow up Australia will contribute 16,056 submissions from people who used their online form. The bulk of the submissions were collected during a partnership with EB Games during which Grow up Australia posters were displayed in all of EB Games’ 250+ Australian stores. A link to the online submission form was also provided via a banner on the EB Games website during the campaign.

Australia is the only developed nation without an adult rating for video games despite the average Australian gamer being 30 years old.[1] In December 2009, the Attorney-General’s Department released a discussion paper calling for community feedback on the issue.

Aaron John Percival, Gamer activist and one of the founders of Grow up Australia, said “support for the introduction of the R18+ rating has been overwhelming with ninety-nine percent of the submissions made through the website in favor of the change”.

The co-founder of the group, Jake Edwards, added that “with less than a week until the deadline for submissions, there is still opportunity for people who want to get involved to make a submission directly to the Attorney-General’s Department”.

To make a submission to the Attorney-General’s Department, log on to: http://www.ag.gov.au/gamesclassification

The submissions will be sent tomorrow so that they will be received before the deadline of the 28th of February 2010.

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[1] Interactive Australia 2009, National Research prepared by Professor J. Brand, Bond University for the Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia, 2008, <www.igea.net/category/industry-research>

The GuA Online Discussion Paper Submission Form is no longer available.

You can still make a submission directly to the Attorney-General’s Department.

http://www.ag.gov.au/gamesclassification

Submissions close 28th of February

Thank you to all those who have participated and to
EB Games Australia for getting involved in this important issue.

EB Games Australia has joined forces with Grow up Australia and thrown their support behind the introduction of an R18+ rating for video games.

Grow up Australia posters are prominently displayed in every EB store across Australia and a petition is available to sign. In addition to their in-store campaign EB are providing a link from their website to Grow up Australia’s online Submission form so that their customers can participate in the Governments Public Consultation: An R18+ Classification for Computer Games.

The online submission form will be available until the 14th of February.

South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson has committed to repeal unpopular amendments to the South Australia Electoral Act 1985. The amendments would have made it illegal for people to anonymously comment on the upcoming state election online.

The decision to repeal came after harsh criticism from online news sites, bloggers and everyday Internet users who posted comments about the issue.

Atkinson can be seen apologising in an online video.

The amendments that are to be repealed by Atkinson were highlighted in this post.

[EDIT]: South Australian Attorney-General Michael Atkinson has committed to repeal these unpopular amendments.

Amendments to the South Australia Electoral Act 1985 that came into effect on the January 6 will mean that anyone wishing to post a comment about the SA state election will be legally required to include their real name and postcode. The restriction will only apply during the election which extends from after the writs have been issued until 6pm on polling day.

Many supporters for the introduction of the R18+ for games debate are hoping for SA Attorney-General Michael Atkinson to lose his seat in the upcoming election as he is strongly opposed to an R18+ for games and has the power to veto the change.

The change to the act was included in a number of amendments that were made last year and was supported by the Opposition. The part of the act that has been changed is quoted below with the changes emphasized.

116—Published material to identify person responsible for political content

(1) A person must not, during an election period, publish material consisting of, or containing a commentary on, any candidate or political party, or the issues being submitted to electors, in written form, in a journal published in electronic form on the Internet or by radio or television or broadcast on the Internet, unless the material or the programme in which the material is presented contains a statement of the name and address (not being a post office box) of a person who takes responsibility for the publication of the material.

Maximum penalty:

(a)     if the offender is a natural person—$1 250;

(b)     if the offender is a body corporate—$5 000.

(2)     This section does not apply to—

(a)     the publication in a journal (including a journal published in electronic form on the Internet) of a leading article;

(b)     the publication of a report of a meeting that does not contain any comment (other than comment made by a speaker at the meeting) on any candidate, or political party, or the issues being submitted to electors;

(c)     the publication in a journal (including a journal published in electronic form on the Internet) of an article, letter, report or other matter if—

(i)     the name and address (not being a post office box) of a person who takes responsibility for the publication of the material is provided to the publisher of the journal and retained by the publisher for a period of 6 months after the end of the election period; and

(ii)     the journal contains a statement of the name and postcode of the person who takes responsibility for the publication of the material;

(ca)    the publication of a letter (otherwise than as described in paragraph (c)) that contains the name and address (not being a post office box) of the author of the letter;

(d)     a news service or a current affairs programme on radio or television or broadcast on the Internet;

(e)     any other prescribed material or class of material.

(3)     In this section—

journal means a newspaper, magazine or other periodical.

Gamers 4 Croydon have announced some candidates for the South Australian election this year. The G4C website also tells us to expect further candidates to be announced at a later date.  The two candidates announced so far are Kat Nicholson and Chris Prior.

Kat Nicholson will be running directly against Michael Atkinson in the electoral district of Croydon

Some information about the candidates from the G4C website:

Candidate for Croydon: Kat Nicholson

Kat has sustained a lifelong love of both gaming and politics and is a highly intelligent, motivated and educated young woman. She completed a BA at Flinders University and is currently studying a Masters in journalism at the University of South Australia. She spent a year as an intern at one of Adelaide’s leading animation studios, and has a long history of participation in community and amateur theater.

Candidate for the Legislative Council: Chris Prior

Chris is the President of Gamers4Croydon and will be leading the G4C ticket in the upper house. He is a self-taught software engineer, and has volunteered extensively in the community, providing help for youth groups and church organisations.

More information available on the G4C website.

Grow up Australia supports the introduction of an R18+ rating for video games. We believe that adults are responsible enough to protect children from inappropriate material within the home. Our view on the government’s plan to censor the internet is a similar one.

This week over 450 websites are participating in The Great Australian Internet Blackout. An initiative that seeks to raise awareness and urge people to speak out against internet censorship. Internet service provider iiNet are participating as are the Greens.

Below are some points copied from GetUp! A form is provided on the GetUp! site to help you send your views to Senator Conroy.

• The scheme is opposed by child welfare charities, civil liberty groups and professional bodies – and with good reason.
• Both the mandatory blacklist and the optional filter miss the vast majority of unwanted content, which is normally shared using email or file-sharing networks – not through web traffic.
• ISP filtering will detract resources from tackling child abuse and waste tens of millions of dollars.
  Senator Conroy has reneged on a promise to have a public consultation process on his proposed mandatory internet censorship scheme.
• His alleged public consultation is narrowly limited to one aspect of the scheme, and does not invite question of the central issue, which is whether to have a mandatory internet filter.
  GetUp! has gathered over 120,000 petition signatures in opposition to mandatory internet censorship scheme.
• There are plenty of alternatives – like distributing software to parents to use at home, or making the filter opt-in rather than mandatory.
• Alarmingly, the Department has indicated that it may not publish all submissions, singling out submissions made by individuals using online tools like GetUp’s website. In short, they are threatening to censor a public consultation on accountability and transparency.

You can find more information at the following websites:

• http://www.internetblackout.com.au/
• http://nocleanfeed.com/