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NSW Attorney General supports Australian adult rating

Greg Smith had abstained from last month's official vote

New South Wales Attorney General Greg Smith has announced his decision to back at R18+ rating for Australia after abstaining from the official vote last month.

"Few people would dispute the value of a classification system that helps keep adult material beyond the reach of children," said Smith.

"With strong classification guidelines in place, an R18+ rating should result in violent games currently rated MA15+ in Australia being reclassified as adults-only, as they already are in many other countries.''

A representative for Smith's office also clarified its position to ABC.

"We abstained from the general thumbs up for an R18+ rating in Adelaide but said outside we suspect we would advise that we are voting, yes. Think of this as finalising/formalising the support."

Last month eight of the nine territories agreed to introduce the rating, while NSW abstained in order to gather more information.

The move will allow Australia gamers access to games like Mortal Kombat or Left 4 Dead 2, which previously were either banned or heavily censored in the country. Some games may still be refused classification, for example if they show strong drug use.

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Rachel Weber

Senior Editor

Rachel Weber has been with GamesIndustry since 2011 and specialises in news-writing and investigative journalism. She has more than five years of consumer experience, having previously worked for Future Publishing in the UK.