NEWS
Attorney-General Michael Atkinson steps down
Posted 21st of March, 2010 at 04:50 pm by Infernal Monkey 
Surprisingly, Rapelay-expert Michael Atkinson has today announced his resignation from the role of South Australia's Attorney-General.
While he'll still remain in Parliament until the next election in 2014, this is great news, as Atkinson was the major roadblock regarding an R18+ rating for video games. Maybe now Australia's video game classification system has a chance of joining the rest of the world. Let's just hope he isn't replaced by a clone.
Speaking outside the church he attends this morning, Atkinson said one of the keys factors in his decision was because he wanted to watch his son play soccer.
"He was supposed to play his first game last night at 7pm and like so many times in my time in Parliament I wasn't there," he said. " I am pretty disappointed about that. So I resolved that every time Johnno walks on the pitch this year his dad is going to be there even if it embarrasses the hell out of him."
MORE NEWS
Box art fix-up #431/07/2010 - Apologies for this being later than usual, my internet's been slower than me trying…
Win! The chance to play Metroid: Other M early30/07/2010 - Thanks to Nintendo Australia, we've got five invitations for Aussie-Nintendo members…
Nintendo 3DS out this October in Japan?30/07/2010 - Nintendo Japan have today confirmed to Bloomberg that the Nintendo 3DS will launch…
Nintendo Shop Updates: July 30th30/07/2010 - Welcome to this week's instalment of Nintendo Shop Updates, five new titles are…
Capcom suffers huge drop in operating income30/07/2010 - Capcom's first quarter earnings are in, and they're not looking too good. The…
COMMENTS (18)
Posted 21st of March, 2010 at 05:03 pm by Dark Moogle 
I'm glad this is finally happening, but this means he can still oppose any R18+ legislation until he steps down in 2014, right? Meaning another dozen or so games will still be hit in the next few years with bans/appeals/edits
Posted 21st of March, 2010 at 05:14 pm by Raven
It is up to the Attorney-Generals to sort that out. Seeing as he is no longer on the front bench (ie. Att. Gen), its no longer up to him.
Good luck in the future Mr Atk.
Good luck in the future Mr Atk.
Posted 21st of March, 2010 at 05:25 pm by Waveguider
Now there's a side of him I never thought I'd see... here's hoping to a better replacement to resolve this mess.
All the best, I guess.
All the best, I guess.
Posted 21st of March, 2010 at 06:15 pm by Clash
"He was supposed to play his first MA15+ game last night at 7pm and like so many times in my time in Parliament I beat him senseless."
Posted 21st of March, 2010 at 07:22 pm by BernkiLOL
Quote:
| Originally Posted by Clash  "He was supposed to play his first MA15+ game last night at 7pm and like so many times in my time in Parliament I beat him senseless." |
Also, this is sad news, it means that the best troll in parliament will be gone. :(
Posted 21st of March, 2010 at 07:47 pm by Gus the Crocodile
Quote:
| Originally Posted by triggen Wait... he actually named his son Johnno? Wow. |
Posted 21st of March, 2010 at 07:55 pm by Bhaskar24
Potentially marks a glorious day for the forward advancement of Australia.
Posted 21st of March, 2010 at 08:04 pm by Waveguider
Quote:
| Originally Posted by Gus the Crocodile No, he called him Johnno, and the paper repeated that as his name, probably because they were unable or unwilling to find out whether the actual name is John or Jon or Jonathan or whatever. |
Posted 21st of March, 2010 at 09:53 pm by Dimentio Delight
Bernkill, regardless of if it was a joke or not, you just admitted you gay love for Atkinson.
Posted 22nd of March, 2010 at 04:44 pm by Tayaun_Nintendo_ftw
YES! Well yeah lets hope the next dude isn't a nazi aswell. If we do get R18+ I hope they re-issue Left 4 Dead 2
Posted 22nd of March, 2010 at 08:59 pm by Thomas_Hill
You're not SUPPOSED to kill the witches. They just pwn you if you try. Play more L4D.
Posted 27th of March, 2010 at 02:48 pm by JPW
you'll have to make me a news poster guys.
Seems like we got the juice on our new District Attorney. And apparently things are looking up:
source: IGN.com
Seems like we got the juice on our new District Attorney. And apparently things are looking up:
Quote:
| New South Australian Attorney-General Is Pro R18+ Things continue to look up for the movement to change the classification system. by IGN Staff Australia, March 24, 2010 - South Australian Premier Mike Rann yesterday announced that first-time minister John Rau will become the South Australian Attorney-General, now that Michael Atkinson has resigned from the front bench. That's all well and good, but what's his stance on the introduction of an R18+ classification for videogames? Well, according to a Twitter post from Gamers4Croydon's Chris Prior "New SA Attorney-General is John Rau, a supporter or the R18+ classification for games (and a nice guy, to boot)". A Gamers4Croydon representative told us that this statement was based on a personal comment John Rau made to Chris Prior, and is obviously very good news for Australian gamers. Mr Prior also posted the following on the Gamers4Croydon website on March 22 after Michael Atkison stepped aside: Seeing the role of Attorney-General filled by someone other than Mr Atkinson was a primary founding goal of Gamers4Croydon. With less than 6 months to prepare, no political experience, and only a few thousand dollars funding, we have achieved that goal. With so very little to work with, we have contributed to two other incumbents losing their seats, and all of our lower house candidates polled higher than the 1% we apparently wouldn't get. In the upper house, we outpolled the majority of groups, including a significant number with more resources, more experience, and much more time. What this now means for the introduction of the R classification remains to be seen. Unfortunately there are never any guarantees in politics, but we have removed the largest impediment to classification reform. We have raised a significant amount of awareness in the community about the problems with the classification system. We have sent a major warning to every Attorney General in the country that blocking positive reform is not only bad for the community but will hurt them politically. We have led by example, helped improve the level of discourse in the online community, and placed gamers in a better position than ever before to be heard and taken seriously. The fight for an R18+ classification, genuine representation, and proactive and accountable government is far from over. Gamers4Croydon's campaign is far from over. Together with the gaming community and fellow progressives, we have heralded a new generation of politically savvy voters, and sent a strong warning to all who would use the power entrusted to them by the people, for themselves... For the full post click here. The question on Aussie gamers' lips now is whether the next meeting of the Attorney-Generals will include a discussion of the R18+ issue. Given that over 60,000 submissions were recorded for the public discussion paper, it may well be a little premature to expect all that public interest to have been digested. We'll let you know when we find out. |
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking B1?"
"I think I am B2!"
"IT'S MANHUNT TIME!"