* Politician says family is at risk from gamers
* 'A threatening note was put under my door'
* Latest in war of words over an R18+ rating
MICHAEL Atkinson says his family is more at risk from angry video gamers than outlaw motorcycle gangs.
The South Australian Attorney-General revealed in an interview aired last night that a "threatening note from a gamer" was placed under his door early one morning.
"I feel that my family and I are more at risk from gamers than we are from the outlaw motorcycle gangs who also hate me and are running a candidate against me," he said on ABC TV's Good Game.
"The outlaw motorcycle gangs haven't been hanging around my doorstop at 2am. A gamer has."
Mr Atkinson was involved in introducing tough new laws to outlaw bikie gangs in South Australia several years ago.
At the time he said politicians and public officials had to put themselves "on the line" to take the gangs on.
The comment on Good Game is the latest volley in a war of words between Mr Atkinson and people who support the introduction of an R18+ rating for video games.
Australia is the only Western country without an adult rating for games. Mr Atkinson has been the most vocal opponent of introducing one and has the power to veto changes to the classification system.
Industry groups say an adult rating would help parents make better decisions about which games are appropriate for children, but Mr Atkinson disagrees. He has previously referred to the campaign as akin to saying: "Give us more cruel sex and extreme violence!"
However the attorney-general's famously colourful rhetoric hasn’t always hit the mark.
In 2004 Mr Atkinson told South Australian Parliament that bikies had used a park barbeque in his electorate to "cook a cat for human consumption".
He was later forced to apologise. The animal was not a cat, the incident happened at another location and bikies weren't involved.
On the record
Some of Mr Atkinson's more memorable quotes on video games:
"Like other parents in Australia, I want to keep the threshold very high to try to protect (children) from being able to access computer generated pornography and violence."
- Statement to The Advertiser newspaper, February 2008
"It was banned because in the course of the game, the player may use illegal performance-enhancing drugs for the members of his or her team."
- Explaining why Blitz: The League was banned in a speech to South Australian Parliament in March 2008
"This game was banned because it promotes breaking the law by vandalising public buildings with graffiti."
- Explaining why Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure was banned during the same speech
"I think you will find this issue has little traction with my constituents who are more concerned with real-life issues than home entertainment in imaginary worlds."
- Letter to a member of the public who wrote to Mr Atkinson in support of an R18+ rating in November 2009
"I understand the Wii console has been phenomenally successful for Nintendo and that system provides many games to challenge and develop skill, physically and intellectually, without depraved sex, gore and cruelty."
- From the same letter
