Gamers, Politics & The Internet

2 December, 2009

• classification
• gaming
• internet
• politics

Michael Bartlett

Category: Online Trends

There’s an interesting debate currently raging online.

Let me give you a quick background. Currently, Australia does not have an R18+ rating for video games. I won’t go into detail on why this is so sorely needed – that’s for another, longer blog post. The only person standing in the way of a review of the system is South Australian Attorney-General and State Member for Croydon, the Hon. Michael Atkinson.

For any changes to be made to classification legislation, all state Attorneys General must unanimously agree to the change. Currently, the Hon. Atkinson is the only Attorney General opposed to the idea, and as a result has continuously vetoed any changes.

So, what's the big deal?

This is particularly frustrating to Australian adults who enjoy video games, as they find many games that are widely available in the rest of the Western world are either banned from sale here, or modified to suit guidelines to the extent that they completely lose their appeal. The other downside is that games that deserve an adult rating (and do receive such ratings in other Western countries) are released in Australia with only a MA15+ rating and are therefore available to minors.

Thankfully, one motivated individual has taken the pro-active step of forming his own political organisation, with the goal of fielding a candidate in the next State election in direct opposition to Atkinson in his current seat of Croydon.

Many words and much correspondence has been exchanged back and forth on both sides of the debate, and it’s interesting to see not only the clash of opinions, but also the clash of generations.

Atikinson is a traditional politician, religious and old-fashioned. His parliamentary profile demonstrates his style:

“Michael stays in touch with his electorate by doorknocking and doing his electorate rounds by bicycle. He is a keen participant in talkback radio.”

All three techniques are great examples of how to reach an audience… 20 years ago.

This, I believe, is where the new party - Gamers4Croydon - holds an advantage. The internet has demonstrated time and time again it’s unsurpassed power in organising and motivating a common collective of people.

Why does the internet count for so much?

Information can be so easily and rapidly moved about through the community and new resources can be found and dissected in minutes. The cause can be promoted not just from the back of a bike, on a doorstep or on a local talkback station, but sent around the world to a global community of passionate gamers and enthusiasts. Monetary donations can come from not just the local area, but from the whole state, country and even from across the seas.

Senator Atkinson, like most long-term incumbents, holds significant political favour within his electorate. However that may not be enough to hold off the potential tsunami of opinion and global support that is possible via the internet. Regardless of whether the G4C party manages to nominate and eventually elect an official, their message will hopefully be spread wide and loud enough to bring about the changes that the public have been wanting for so long.

In any case, it’s going to be an interesting campaign. Who will win? The incumbent with decades of traditional political experience, but completely out of touch with the modern technological world? Or the young, inexperienced, but immensely passionate and dedicated group with the power of the internet and a world full of supporters?

Only time will tell…