Scott Ludlam: Australian Government Is Missing “Extraordinary Opportunity” With Games

When the Australian government ran a red line through the Interactive Games Fund it removed $20 million dollars from an industry that always paid back its investments and then some. Greens Senator Scott Ludlam is currently attempting to change the way the federal government thinks about video games. According to him, we’re missing out on an “extraordinary opportunity”.

It was Scott Ludlam who called for an inquiry into the Australian games industry and what can be done to help facilitate its growth. Government support has helped countries like Canada dramatically grow their games industry. According to Ludlum there’s no reason why Australia can’t pull off the same trick.

Speaking to The Australian, Ludlam discussed the inquiry.

“Just looking at it from a purely hard-headed economic perspective, we are missing an extraordinary opportunity here,” he said.

“You look at the inhabitants of parliament — a lot of them don’t take the sector seriously and perhaps they never will. But that doesn’t mean we can wait around for them to disappear. We have to build the case and build the evidence base.”

Speaking to folks involved in local games development, the most frustrating thing about the loss of the Interactive Games Fund was the fact it was done without any consultation whatsoever. People like Tony Reed from the Games Developers Association of Australia weren’t even given the chance to discuss or petition for the fund to remain. This inquiry is a chance to weigh up the benefits of government support, and hopefully give the local industry a fresh layer of support.

Games industry hopes to push right buttons with politicians [The Australian]