Wow and double wow, in a surprisingly swift turn around the Standing Council of the Attorney Generals Meeting has made an In Principle Agreement to allow video games to be granted R18+ where appropriate and not Refused Classification, making them unavailable for sale in Australia. It was suspected that the objection of the NSW Attorney General to the issue would once again hamstring the approval, but the decision was made to disregard the single objection (The AG from NSW was not fundamentally against the idea, he just wanted to delay it for research purposes) and push ahead with a decision that was in the popular interest of Australian people. The South Australian AG John Rau has scrapped his plans for a South Australia specific classification system in light of this development.

It's not officially law yet, but the debate has all but been laid to rest and it looks like we have won. It's unlikely games previously issued with an RC with be able to requalify for an R18+ but at least no game in the future will find themselves tripping up due to a small technicality such as whether a healthpack in the form of a syringe is called Morphine or Stimpack.

This issue could never be categorised as a major milestone in Australian politics, it's barely a historical footnote compared to issues like GST and the Mabo decision. But it's a victory for reason and logic in an area that is usually ruled by who can provide the most outrage for the longest amount of time. Federal Minister for Home Affairs, and a major proponent of the R18+ for games arguement, Brendan O'Conner had a few choice words on the victory: "This is a big step forward in the long running debate on classification of computer games for adults.The introduction of an R18+ classification for computer games will provide better advice to parents and help prevent children and teenagers from accessing unsuitable material. Once introduced, the new classification will also afford adults the opportunity to view material designed for adults.”