Michael Atkinson Gone As South Australia Attorney General (R18+ news)

Something happened today that may set events in motions that will change my life. Late last night, the Gamers 4 Croydon party posted a photo on their Twitter feed that showed that Michael Atkinson had been re-elected as the Member of Parliament for Croydon in South Australia. My heart sank when I saw this, as Atkinson is seemingly (he disputes this) the sole opponent of creating an R18+ for videogames in Australia. Then this morning, Atkinson announced he would continue as the MP for Croydon, but he would step down in his role as Attorney General. JOY!



Gamers 4 Croydon may not have won the seat from Atkinson, (removing someone who has held the position since 1989(!) is no small feat.) but the ALP party, to which Atkinson is a member of, were dealt a severe blow last night, losing many of their seats in a 7.2% shift to the Liberal party. However, the Labour government seems to have the minimum amount of seats to form a government in South Australia. However, it's this slim majority that seems to have been why Atkinson has quit. However, one can't dissociate the following blunders he's made during his tenure:

"He has been dogged by a string of controversies - think internet censorship, stashed cash, Ashbourne-Clarke and the senior magistrate defamation case.He also has attracted national criticism over his refusal to allow an R18+ rating for video games.His humiliating backflip over internet censorship laws on the night of Februrary 2 came after a furious reaction on AdelaideNow to The Advertiser's exclusive report on the new law.The attorney-general also took a leading role in the formulation of the Rann Government's controversial anti-bikie laws."
Source: Adelaide Now



So what now? There will be a new Attorney General appointed at some point, and he or she may or may not be more open to the idea of a R18+ rating for videogames. They may be vehemently opposed to it, and we'll be back at square 1 again. Frankly, I'd rather be here staring into the unknown as opposed to the certainty of no progress on the R18+ issue for another 4 years. Credit to the Gamers 4 Croydon party for winning a small chunk of the vote (Atkinson claimed less that 1% of voters would vote for them); it was a big ask to win the seat but the group did gamers proud by actually standing up for what they believe in.

So for now, we wait......