While the issues surrounding R18+ in Australia have been well publicised by the Australian media, a small band of Australian gamers have been trying to get the message out there by educating the public about Australia's outdated classification system. Founded in 2009 by Aaron John Percival, Grow Up Australia quickly gained momentum and built up a support base of over 35,000 fans on Facebook. The organisation is by far the most vocal and active pro-R18+ group and even teamed up with retailer EB Games to automate an e-mail system that allowed users to submit their responses to the public consultation online.

　　With the upcoming SCAG meeting just over 20 days away, GameSpot AU managed to catch up with Aaron John Percival to find out how Grow Up Australia plans to raise awareness of R18+, what his thoughts are on the Federal Government's "silent majority" excuse, and how long he believes it will take before the classification guidelines change in Australia.

　　While other pro-R18+ groups have come and gone, Grow Up Australia continues to expand.

　　 GameSpot AU: What's the current state of Grow Up Australia? We understand you've expanded recently?

　　Aaron John Percival: Yes! We’ve brought on board John and Boyd to help us write the updates and guest posts. They are currently studying journalism in Queensland and are very passionate about the issue. We’re very excited about what they’ll be able to bring to the table. We've also made the website look a bit prettier.

　　GS AU: What activities have you got planned around the upcoming SCAG meeting?

　　AP: We’ll be doing our bit to spread the word by passing on any relevant news to our followers on Facebook and Twitter. We’ll also be encouraging people to write letters to their local members of parliament. We want our politicians to understand just how widespread support for an R18+ is. We especially want them to understand that people in their electorate support this issue.

　　GS AU: Not long after the public consultation, the Federal Government essentially dismissed the results by saying that the "silent majority" did not express their opinions on R18+. What do you think can be done to get the silent majority to speak out?

　　AP: We need to let them know about the problem and let them know how it effects everybody. The IGEA [Interactive Games and Entertainment Association] did some research a while back that showed that two-thirds of Australians were unaware that an R18+ for computer games didn’t already exist. I think we’ve probably already done a fair bit in the raising-awareness department since then, but there is still work to be done. I saw GameSpot's very own Laura Parker had an opinion piece on the topic in the Sydney Morning Herald recently. Getting this issue into the kind of publications that non-gamers and casual gamers read is a great way of getting the word out there.

　　GS AU: Is it a fair call by the government to try to hear what the "silent majority" have to say?

　　AP: It's a bit of a stalling tactic. It just means they still aren't confident enough to make a decision. The Attorneys-General want to make sure that this is the right thing to do and what people really want. If we just look the number of submissions for and against, it appears to us that the decision is a no-brainer, but it’s not that simple for them. I just hope that their methods are transparent.

　　GS AU: Do you think that the recent public consultation has done more harm than good, given that the responses were pretty much all from gamers?

　　AP: Much, much more good than harm. The alternative is there being hardly any submissions at all, and then they would think that only the industry and religious groups cared about this issue. The Attorneys-General would have been shocked to discover just how much gamers want this, and now they know we will fight for it. They should also realise by now that "gamers" are just regular people. Practically everyone plays computer games in one form or another.

　　Left 4 Dead 2's banning last year highlighted the inconsistencies of Australia's rating system.

　　GS AU: What else are you planning to keep community interest alive on this issue?

　　AP: Wait for another really popular game to get banned! Just kidding. I think people are sick of writing letters. It’s really hard to get people to remain interested in doing this, but it really is the best thing they can do right now. We have some ideas about how to get people more excited, but at the moment, they are just ideas. We’ll let you know when they become something more.

　　GS AU: What can people do to keep this issue alive and burning?

　　AP: Talk to their grandma about it! Seriously. Anyone who you think is out of the loop on this--let them know your opinion. They may not understand or agree at the time, but you’ve planted the seed! If the government is going to ask the “silent majority” what they think, then we want the “silent majority” to know what they are talking about. We need to fight the myths surrounding this thing in our own backyards.

　　GS AU: Realistically, how long do you think it will be before we see an R18+ classification for video games introduced?

　　AP: How long is a piece of string? I really haven’t a clue. Let's hope it’s all a lot clearer after the SCAG meeting next month.

　　GS AU: Aaron, thanks for your time.