Today, the Board is required to assess and classify all films, video games, DVDs and other publications and give it a rating - e.g. PG, MA15+, etc. But with the explosion of new content the Board struggles to thoroughly analyse everything and occasionally makes questionable decisions. The latest video game that has been banned from sale is Mortal Kombat, the ninth game in the popular series. Every other Mortal Kombat title has passed the censors but the latest version was banned, leaving gamers fuming. As there is no R18+ rating for video games, anything that is unsuitable for 15 year olds is automatically banned from sale. Moves toward establishing an R18+ rating have repeatedly been delayed. Not long before it banned Mortal Kombat, the Board let a sexy spanking game, We Dare, through as PG, despite the game's own publisher, Ubisoft, recommending it be rated M. Hunt is now a private consultant and is helping Warner Bros. appeal the Mortal Kombat ban. He has previously helped overturn bans on F.E.A.R.2: Project Origin and Aliens vs. Predator.

Hunt believes that the system should move to a self-regulatory model whereby publishers set their own ratings. "I don't think necessarily classifying everything is sustainable ... the television industry looks after itself and you've just got government auditing," he said. "Occasionally you get someone doing a turkey slap on Big Brother but that's 25 seconds in however many hours a day it is." Warner Bros. sales and marketing director Mark Aubrey said: "Both the ESRB system in North America and the PEGI system in Europe are industry self-regulated models and both seem to work well." Hunt added that the Board had always relied on industry to alert it to controversial content anyway, and the self-regulatory model was working well in US and Europe.

"The fact of the matter is [with] most of the games on the market the information the board relies on is being supplied by the industry anyway," he said. "There's nothing in the legislation saying that they [the Board] have to play the game." But Hunt and Hetrih added that there should be sanctions and potentially fines imposed when publishers give inappropriate ratings. "At the end of the day industry wants to make a buck and if they've got something that's too strong then there's going to be a backlash," said Hunt. He said that even when a game or film is banned from sale, anyone who still wants the content can just buy it online.

Hetrih said there were some dangers to ceding responsibility for content classification to the industry. Some industries like the pornography industry could abuse that power to sell more extreme content, he said. Even today, with the Board already relying heavily on industry to provide it with information, some publishers have been less than truthful. "I already know of numerous occasions where companies have fudged presentations to the Board to get titles through for financial reasons (I.e. if a game is Refused Classification - banned - they'll lose money, if a game gets PG instead of G, it can't be advertised in kid's TV timeslots, which translates to loss of money)," he said. "Imagine what it would be like if these financial considerations took a front seat, while the greater public's needs were given less emphasis. Pretty much, it could become a 'free-for-all' where anything and everything is permissible." For the above reasons Hetrih said it was important to have a powerful independent body with the power to apply hefty fines to publishers and distributors who are caught out.

The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) is about to conduct a review of the classification system. Hunt believes the system should be overhauled before the government moved to expand the board's remit to cover things like smartphone apps. The fact that content classification rules were different depending on which state and territory you're in was evidence that the system was "broken". He believes that in a new model the Board should simply play an "auditing" role involving managing complaints about content and performing spot checks to keep the industry in line. Ron Curry, head of the games industry body, Interactive Games & Entertainment Association, said he saw merit in Hunt's suggestion but there was much more detail that needed to be fleshed out. "In light of the government's announcement of the ALRC review on classification we are examining ways in which we think a new scheme could address the needs of consumers, industry and government.," he said.

Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor said the ALRC review would begin in April this year. The government would not comment on Hunt's suggestion, saying it didn't want to "pre-empt" the review. "It is expected that the ALRC will make recommendations about a broad range of issues confronting the current Scheme including the proliferation of classifiable content, the convergence of media and media delivery methods, compliance and enforcement," O'Connor said. Hunt has been a strong supporter of the creation of an R18+ rating for video games, which would allow adults to buy more adult titles in shops but also ensure violent games aren't let through with classifications saying they are suitable for children. He said he was encouraged by the Federal Government's recent statements of support for an R18+ rating for games but said the fact that all state and territory attorneys-general had to agree on any changes meant it was difficult to get up. Loading

"With nine governments playing around in the pool getting them to agree is difficult," Hunt said. This reporter is on Twitter: @ashermoses