ACT passes R18+ Legislation

Canberra rejoice! Following the R18+ legislation passing through the Senate in June, the ACT has become the first Australian territory to enter it into the law. The bill passed with tripartisan support - meaning the support of all of the major parties - although an attempt by the Liberal party to increase the penalty for inappropriate display or distribution of R18+ material was not successful.

While the ACT has acted very quickly on passing the legislation, the other states and territories may take a little longer - although all are on track to meet the January 1st date set when the bill passed through the Senate. And naturally, while the bill has now passed in the ACT, games with the R18+ rating won't start being sold until then. The ACT's Attorney General Simon Corbell said of the bill to ABC News:

"This is about making sure that adults are able to view and play and read what they wish as long as it does not do harm to others. An R18+ classification ensures that adults can access adult material in computer game form, but at the same time protecting children under the age of 18 from that material."

Which makes a nice change from 'What is com-poo-tor' or whatever South Australia's Attorney General is saying these days. Let's celebrate this in the traditional Canberran manner - watching pornography and trying not to die of boredom!