An R18 Discussion Paper Submission Letter

December last year the long awaited Discussion paper regarding an R18+ classification for games was finally released. With only a week remaining until the cut-off date for submissions, tallying has already begun. Although this is a call for feedback only – not a vote – results so far positive. I submitted one myself of course, but in addition to this I wrote a rather lengthy letter my local Attorney-General Cameron Dick, as well as Brendan O’Connor, Minister for Home Affairs.

The letter is a collection of thoughts and concerns regarding the R18 debate. I tried to avoid many of the points commonly bought up by pro-R18 supporters (though I still touch on several where relevant) simply because so many others have done a great job of bringing them up in their own submissions with reference to the compelling Interactive Australia research. Instead, my submission is more a personally letter based on my own opinions, experience, and reading.

The letter is as follows:

R18+ Classification: A reply from the Attorney-General's Department

Shortly before Christmas the long awaited discussion paper on an R 18+ rating for video games was released. It can be found here and I encourage all Australian residents to send in a reply.

Shortly before hand I sent a letter to Brendan O’Connor, the Minister for Home Affairs asking when the discussion paper would be released. Little did I know it would be released only a couple of days latter, which made the whole exercise feel a little late and silly. Today I received a reply, and even though it doesn't mean a whole lot now that the discussion paper is out I thought I'd post a transcript of the letter here for posterity.

Australia’s Dangerous Proposal to Classify Mobile Games

For gamers still reeling in frustration that yet another high profile game has fallen victim to Australia’s antiquated Classification System comes the news that the Australian Classification Board wants to classify iPhone and other mobile games. Itnews is reporting that the Classification Board director Donald McDonald wrote to Censorship Minister Brendan O'Connor “regarding [his] concern that some so-called mobile phone applications, which can be purchased online or either downloaded to mobile phones or played online via mobile phone access, are not being submitted to the board for classification.” If the proposed internet filter demonstrates the Australian Government’s failure to understand the nature of the web, then this demonstrates their inability to understand the changing face of video games and the distribution of media in the 21st century.

This desire to classify all mobiles games is preposterous, dangerous, and ultimately proof of the Classification Board’s increasing irrelevance in modern culture.