At a public forum in the western Sydney suburb of Rooty Hill last night, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said he would be “happy to look at” an R18+ rating for video games if he won the election. But he said he didn’t know there had even been a debate on the issue…
A Kotaku reader asked the Opposition Leader: “What are your views on the absence of an R18 rating for video games and do you have any policies relating to this?”
Mr Abbott’s reply:
If what happens with video games is not roughly analogous to what happens in other areas, that seems silly… Instinctively I’m with you, and it’s something I’d be happy to look at, if we are in Government… If you think there is a problem, I would be happy to look at it.
Strangely, Mr Abbott reportedly admitted to not knowing “there had been a debate on this issue”, despite publicly saying, at the Make It Count debate in June, that the current classification system was “broken”.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who was also present at last night’s forum, had nothing to say on the matter.
[Kotaku]