R18+ Deliberations End, But Decision Still Pending

Update #2: Speaking to Kotaku Australia, Brendan O’ Connor said that the Western Attorney-General was not responsible for the R18+ delay: 

"Ah look," he said, "Christian [Porter] has a really open mind about the subject, and he is genuinely worried about the way games are currently falling into childrens hands under MA15+. Like I said there was a real consensus in the room, and this is a good first step. Changes will be made and the way we adjust the guidelines are a very important part of that process. We have to work out what’s in and what’s out." 

"We also had a new Victorian AG, and he’s only been an Attorney General for a few days, so we really need more time to get everything worked out."

Update: Federal Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor has just wrapped up a press conference about R18+ and the details are below:

O'Conner said at the press conference that there is no agreement for R18+ today, but he feels like today's activities are a step in the right direction. He also said that there is a possibility that R15 could be changed if an R18+ rating is put in place.. at some point.

He says that "gamers have grown up," and the country needs "to deal with the convergence of film and games." He also said that the matter will be taken up again at the next SCAG meeting in early 2011 and that "there has been a genuine effort on [the] AGs part in today's meeting in considering R18." 

The AGs apparently voted, but who voted for or against R18+ is unknown at this time. It has also been revealed that the AGs asked for better guidelines on how the introduction of an R18+ would affect current ratings such as MA15+ and RC.

It looks like this story is "to be continued."

Original Story:

The meeting to decide whether to implement an R18+ game rating in Australia concluded a little while ago, but one Attorney General, Western Australia AG Christian Porter, said that he would not make a decision on the matter without first speaking to his cabinet about the issue.

A recent survey in Australia has proven that the public overwhelmingly supports an adult rating, and many gamers had hoped that the matter would be settled at the SCAG meeting, but it has not happened yet. For the new ratings category to be approved all AGs must approve it. It is unknown at this point if every AG supports the R18+ rating.

Federal Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor called for a press conference at 3:30 pm Australian time, but as of this writing, it has not started. We will update this story as information becomes available.

Data gathered from Kotaku Australia, GameSpot Au and via Twitter #r18au