NSW Attorney General wants MA15+ content banned after R18+ is here

Channel 7 news ran a story last night which declared that New South Wales Attorney General Greg Smith would see games like GTA IV banned, even with an R18+ rating.

Mr Smith described a scene from a Grand Theft Auto game (in which the player flagged down and shot a sex worker), while conveying his lack of understanding of the medium by saying "when she gets out he gets out with a semi-automatic rifle and shoots her dead" as though he is describing a scene from a film. Mr Smith's statements do not indicate an awareness of player agency or an understanding of the difference between dictating action with a controller and being a passive observer.

A spokesperson for Mr Smith, speaking to Kotaku, said: "The AG doesn’t want any dilution of the Refused Classification category for games, but remains fully committed to an R18+ rating for video games."

When asked about his specific calls regarding Grand Theft Auto, they said: "That was just his reaction after watching the game. The point is that he wants games with extreme gratuitous violence or gratuitous sexual violence to remain in the Refused Classification category."

The contradiction between Mr Smith's desire to introduce an R18+ rating to better inform parents of the type of content available and his opinion that some games which are classified at an MA15+ level should be banned should have little impact on the introduction of an R18+ category or the establishment of its guidelines.

The only representative of the medium in the Channel 7 News report was THQ Marketing Director Col Kennedy, who was quoted as simply stating that "as with all mature media out there, adults should be able to choose what they want to play."

The report then went on to suggest that the industry's 'reaction' to Mr Smith's comments was for Saint's Row: The Third to be promoted with free petrol giveaways at petrol stations around the country, while stating that the game 'glorified' the exploding of petrol stations.

The full report can be seen here.

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