The Australian Government Minister for the Arts and Sport Senator the Hon George Brandis today met with a delegation from the Game Developers’ Association of Australia (GDAA) headed by CEO Greg Bondar.

CEO of the Game Developers’ Association of Australia (GDAA) Greg Bondar said the Minister requested a meeting with the GDAA. The delegation included GDAA CEO Greg Bondar, game developers Mike Fegan CEO of IR Gurus (Melbourne) and Martin Cooper CEO of Team Bondi (Sydney).

This meeting comes on the heel of a meeting GDAA had just a few weeks ago with Senator Conroy, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and Shadow Minister for Communications and Information Technology who undertook to establish a high level committee to review the GDAA’s call for a 40% tax rebate for the games industry.

“We received a very position reception at the Sydney ministerial offices of Senator Brandis” said GDAA CEO Greg Bondar.

“Senator Brandis was most sympathetic to our concerns and also undertook to ensure that a review of GDAA’s call for a 40% tax rebate for the games industry in Australia would be undertaken if the Coalition was returned to government.”

“As a result of the heightened awareness by both sides of the political fence of the important role that game developers play in the Australian economy I will be recommending to the members of the GDAA and industry delegates at the Game Connect: Asia Pacific 2007 conference in a few weeks that a National Games Summit be held in partnership with the ‘new’ Government, whichever party it may be, with a view to placing our concerns squarely before the newly elected government. I will also push for the establishment of a national GDAA Games Council to continue to lobby governments,” added Bondar.

“I think our industry has come to the point where it now needs a unified approach to lobbying governments at both the national and international level about the economic, social and cultural benefits of the interactive entertainment (game development) industry. Unless we act now to enforce our legitimate right to be on an equal footing with the film industry game developers will continue to be sidelined by government,” concluded Bondar.