A few bad parents will let their kids play R18+ games if the rating comes in, but a low cost awareness campaign would teach slacker parents the negative consequences of letting their child play R18+ games. And lets start removing the positive reinforcement our government gives parents these days for failure.

Would any parent allow their kid to do graffiti if the parent had to clean the graffiti or face losing their medicare entitlement?

Ah yeah, the "please won't somebody think of the children" argument, when really, maybe parents should step up to the plate and do some parenting for themselves instead of expecting society to raise their kids for them.

I couldn't get access to porn when I was a kid because my parents did their own parenting. How about getting involved in your kid's lives instead of giving them free access to the internet and all that comes with it.

"...under sustained pressure from commercial gaming interests and extreme civil libertarians..."

What, pray tell, is an 'extreme civil libertarian'? Someone who thinks people should be able to do whatever they like, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else? Scary!

No wonder the Christian lobby, which thrives on guilt, is backing away and making the sign of the crucifix.

What everyone is missing here, is that it is perfectly legal to buy these R18+ or Xrated games in Australia. It is just not legal to sell them in Australia.

If I wanted to buy and Xrated game or movie etc, I am legally entitled to buy them from a retailer overseas and have it shipped over.

A few decades ago, this was difficult and expensive to do, now it is often cheaper to buy a book, movie etc from overseas via amazon or others than locally. Kids generally do most of their shopping on line, and this ridiculous censorship only works on the 50yr+ computer illiterates who push this stupid agenda, and is as useful as a ban on sunshine.

The Australian National Classification Scheme should not include an R 18+ classification category for computer games.

In the absence of proof as a result of long term, wide ranging studies, that interacting with games whose content is outrageously violent, sadistic or violently sexually depraved, does not lead susceptible individuals to copy these behaviors, approval of them under any classification would be reckless.

By their interactive nature these games lead the player into enjoying appallingly violent and deviant behaviour in which they are a participant. The scenes unfold as the player clicks through the game, the object, of course, being to win and enjoy the buzz that goes with that.

This can invoke copy cat behavior in the mentally disturbed , in those whose social environment makes them prone to breaking the law, and in children who happen to discover the games in the household.

According to the Office of Film and Literature Classification guidelines for computer games, the regulations for computer games are applied more strictly because “Ministers are concerned that games, because of their ‘interactive’ nature, may have greater impact, and therefore greater potential for harm or detriment, on young minds than film and videotape".

Whilst it is the case that they can be obtained via the Internet, most responsible people would not want such games on the shelves of video stores and rental outlets. Once outside the store and in the home they will be available to children.

There is now significant concern about the incidence of violent behavior in the Australian community. It occurs on city streets, in bars, on the roads and even in schools and hospitals.
To introduce a veritable training programme in violent behavior in the form of R18+ computer games would not only be reckless but irrational

To outline the need to review and change classification laws makes the ensuing statement "the Justice Minister Brendan O’Conner’s decision this week to propose the introduction of new forms of extreme sex and violence in computer games is difficult to understand" a non sequitur fallacy.

Also, the ability to buy unsuitable media from overseas is a key factor.