Queensland confirms parliamentary support for R18+ legislation

Having agree to implement legislation in a parliament meeting yesterday, Queensland has announced its support for Australia's R18+ ratings category for video games.

A statement confirming the decision was actually released by mistake yesterday, prior to the end of debate, before being retracted and reissued this morning.

Queenland's new legislation will require consumers to show proof of age when purchasing R18+ rated games, and attorney-general Jarrod Bleijie said the move should protect minors and assist parents.

“The introduction of this classification should be welcome news for parents, who will now have more control over the games their children are playing,” he said.

“I encourage parents to be guided by these classifications, as I’m sure many are unaware of the levels of violence and adult material contained in some computer games. This system has worked with films for a long time and it makes sense for computer games to be treated in the same way."

Queensland was the only state still to act on the new federal classification category, and its assent yesterday made history. It also prevents local retailers being left out in the cold when games like God of War: Ascension are available online or over the border.

“By coming into line with the rest of the country, we can prevent the games from being bought interstate and sold illegally in Queensland," Bleijie noted.

The legislation will be enforced upon assent from the Governor.