Senator Conroy Meets with GDAA to commence the establishment of a High Level Committee to review GDAA's call for a tax rebate
For immediate release
MEDIA RELEASE
MELBOURNE - Friday 29 February, 2008 - Senator The Hon Stephen Conroy, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate, met with the CEO and President of the GDAA regarding the establishment a high level committee to review the GDAA's call for a tax rebate for the games industry in Australia.
Senator Conroy met with representatives from the Game Developers' Association of Australia and has kept his pre-election promise of establishing a high level committee to review the tax rebate situation for game developers.
CEO of the Game Developers' Association of Australia (GDAA) Greg Bondar said after the meeting with the Senator, "We were warmly greeted by the Minister and he has commenced putting in place arrangements for the establishment of the high level committee at which game developers can put their case for a tax rebate."
Senator Conroy met with Gregory Bondar, CEO of the GDAA and Tom Crago, CEO of Tantalus in Melbourne.
Further details:
Greg Bondar
CEO GDAA
0411 854 115
-ends-
About the Game Developers Association of Australia:
The Game Developers' Association of Australia (GDAA) was established in December 1999. Today, the association comprises corporate members from game development companies and educational institutions, associate corporate members (in service sectors that support the industry), individuals and students.
The main purpose of the GDAA is to increase the profile of the Australian electronic games industry both domestically and internationally in order to:
Promote the growth of the game industry in Australia
Represent the interests of GDAA members
Attract capital and publishers from offshore and increase local investment
Retain and attract the talent that exists in the local industry
Promote a sense of community within the industry
Stats and facts about the games industry:
The Australian games industry is worth an estimated $110 million per year
Australians spend over A$2 million per day on interactive computer games
Total sales in 2006 for the industry was $1 billion1
Annual compound growth of the industry is 12.3%2
12.5m games were sold in 20063
6.1m video game consoles have been sold since 20004
3.6m Australian households have a video game console
4.8million Australian households have an internet enabled PC which is capable of playing games5
The average age of gamers is 28 years
60%of gamers are male and 40% female
35% of gamers are parents and 8% are seniors
Families are an integral part of playing games
8,500 Australians are directly employed in the video game industry in 2007
By 2010, the GDAA estimate that 18,000 people will be directly employed in the video game industry in Australia.
For media information, contact:
Kerryn Nelson
Managing Director
Big Mouth Marketing Communications P/L
Ph: + 61 3 9558 3122
E: kerryn.nelson@bigmouth.net.au