Australia's has had it's fair share of whacky politicians who've used games as a scapegoat for all our criminal and social problems, so it comes as a nice change to hear that our cross tasman friends also have to deal with the same sort of nonsense. You have to feel for Kiwi gamers, they have to put up with our censored version of Grand Theft Auto IV (even though they do have an R rating for games), and now New Zealand Independent MP, Gordon Copeland, wants to throw the ban hammer on GTA IV entirely because... the jails are overflowing.
Congratulations, Gordon, you've just been inducted into our list!
From www.scoop.co.nz...
"Sadly New Zealand has become a violent society," said Mr Copeland.
"Our criminal courts are almost log jammed with cases involving murder, manslaughter, rape, and other heinous crimes. Our jails are overflowing."
"A recent study has indicated that, on a per capita basis, New Zealand is now twice as violent as the USA."
Yes, you read that correctly. He really thinks that pulling Grand Theft Auto IV off the shelves will help relieve the jail population. The article over at Scoop has some more incredible claims about Grand Theft Auto being a murder simulator, so head on over to www.scoop.co.nz for all the shenanigans.