A Senate Inquiry has been established on the back of Kevin Rudd’s petition, which was signed by 501,876 people, into Australian media which will definitely set the agenda and ground rules in current and future battles for truth in Australian media reporting.
Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull are leading the charge, but they are backed up by millions of Australian’s and that is why the Coalition did not try and stop the Senate Inquiry. The real battle is between Kevin Rudd, Malcolm Turnbull and social media users versus Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and the Barbarians. The Barbarians being the likes of Nine Entertainment and Seven West Media who also have a financial stake in supporting the federal Liberal/National Coalition.
I am not fan or supporter of Kevin Rudd or Malcolm Turnbull and I have been extremely critical of both on this website but the bigger battle against the lies and propaganda in Australia’s media that is undermining democracy needs to be the focus. So, while I don’t support Rudd or Turnbull, I do support the 501,876 people supporting the Senate Inquiry.
The background to the senate inquiry is explained by The Saturday Paper as:
Pressure is mounting against News Corp, led by former prime ministers Malcolm Turnbull and Kevin Rudd. They say democracy is damaged by the company’s ‘propaganda’ and ‘vendettas’.
Rudd set the ball rolling a month ago, when he drafted a petition calling for a royal commission into media ownership and concentration in Australia.
“Our democracy depends on diverse sources of reliable, accurate and independent news,” it began. “But media ownership is becoming more concentrated alongside new business models that encourage deliberately polarising and politically manipulated news.”
Rudd’s petition went on to canvass a number of areas of concern, including whistleblower protection, official secrecy, unjust searches and prosecution of journalists, and the threats posed by Google and Facebook. But its strongest language related to News Corp, “founded by Fox News billionaire Rupert Murdoch”.
News Corp’s “overwhelming” control of the nation’s print media, the petition said, gave it power that was “routinely used to attack opponents in business and politics by blending editorial opinion with news reporting. Australians who hold contrary views have felt intimidated into silence. These facts chill free speech and undermine public debate.”
The petition garnered more than half a million signatures – including Turnbull’s – and might have got even more had it not overloaded the parliament’s website. (Click here to read more)
Given 501,876 people signed the petition, which I was one, the real support would be in the millions.
Murdoch’s media didn’t take long to fight back once the Senate Inquiry was announced and Tony Abbott’s former advisor Peta Credlin, who is now one of Rupert Murdoch’s puppets on Sky News, started telling lies as per below. Kevin Rudd Tweeted:
This is a 100% lie from the Murdoch media’s Credlin. She accuses me of “data harvesting” from the petition. The truth: we chose the parliament’s own petition site which prevents any form of data harvesting. I await her apology on air.
Keven Rudd then fired off another Tweet as per below.
My lawyers have just sent Murdoch’s Credlin a formal letter demanding an immediate on-air apology for her lies yesterday. She lied that I was “data harvesting” petition signatures. The parliamentary petition site simply makes that impossible.
To my knowledge, Peta Credlin has not apologised at this point which means it could end up in court.
Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull both have deep pockets to run legal proceedings if they need or want to but that would achieve little without support, What the petition shows and does is it gives them the support they need to really take the battle to Rupert Murdoch and the others. So if you don’t have a Twitter or Facebook account get one now if you want to back them up along with the 501,876 people who signed the petition.
Malcolm Turnbull signed the petition and in one of the biggest and best takedowns on national TV he absolutely destroyed another Murdoch propagandist Paul Kelly who works at The Australian as per the below video which is from last Monday’s QandA show (9/11/20):
While people complain about other media being biased, and I’m currently working on a story about bias on the ABC’s Media Watch program, no one even comes close to the blatant lies and propaganda that is spewed out onto the Australian public daily by Murdoch’s puppets at his papers and on Sky News.
Murdoch does what he does because it is all about money as far as he is concerned. The same can now be said for Nine Entertainment which is chaired by former Treasurer Peter Costello who also makes millions from lobbying the federal government and Seven West Media which is controlled by Kerry Stokes who makes millions from the mining industry.
Rupert Murdoch, Peter Costello and Kerry Stokes all get favourable treatment from Scott Morrison and the coalition government which will certainly be revealed in more detail at the Senate Inquiry.
Kevin Rudd hasn’t managed to get a Murdoch Royal Commission up and running but a Senate Inquiry is a good start. And while Rudd and Turnbull are the ones driving the issue it is the 501,876 who signed the petition who are the power behind it because without them there is no Senate Inquiry.
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And the UNIONS are Labor’s propaganda agency,who do exactly the same in crucifying anyone they don’t like in business and Gov’t,whatever it takes to keep the scum in Canberra from all parties,Rudd and Turnbull are EXES and as such are irrelevant and should fade away as they are still on the Gov’t teat with their pensions from the taxpayer and Cayman Islands tax havens
The Unions don’t have newspapers and TV to push their propaganda every day to millions of people. And no matter what the Unions do how does that justify Murdoch’s crimes and corruption? You sound like a Sky News reporter doing the old look over there routine.
The Unions dont own 71% of Australias Print Media ! so please dont talk Tripe !
JonC. You failed to mention any part of the issues presented here, burying your head in the sand and slurring the personalities who have valid arguments. It is refreshing to observe people from different sides of our political spectrum actually working together. As for “the unions” another tired unsubstantiated argument.
Did you copy and paste your reply from the Murdock Manual?
While your at Murdock, how about you tackle the ABC. After last weeks 4 corners show one would believe there are only two blokes in Canberra that are getting a bit on the side and only two women that are out to make a name for themselves. A total bloody disgrace would be the only description and we the taxpayers are paying. ABC over the years has been the only TV or radio however of late the off switch is being used regularly.
GBC you are full of it, the L/NP acolytes are angry that the ABC has utilized its discretionary empowerment to provide a window of access into the hushed-up infamy of the now frequently misleading news being broadcast and or published, by the bought-off press barons that own the mainstream media news bureaus of today.
Exposing the facts concerning the deplorable conducts of L/NP Cabinet ministers who use their power of office to lure susceptible young female parliamentary staffers for their opportune sexual gratifications, whether consensual or just luridly impressionable, is offensive to the trust held in these persons…Then we the people have also learned of the deception played out by these stinkers in spite of their marriage vows their deceptive actions were little other than selfish improper acts of despicability.
.
The ABC’s discretionary use of their window of honest disclosure is an actual benefit to the people seeking out the honest worth of today’s smug L/NP parliamentarians. I see you GBC, are simply attacking the messenger…While not wanting to or just plainly ignoring the obliged codes of conduct and the necessary roles of responsibility incumbent upon the former trusted offenders….We the people have since learned of those leadership government ministers reportedly engaging in their predatory romps among the junior female parliament ancillary personnel, having finally been revealed as fact.
K Rudd and M Turnbull rising up against; the taxpayer-funds begging, non-income tax paying, Morduch media empire that has been improperly induced by being continually paid to be supportive of the improper governance by today’s J Howard-like misleading government in leadership.
Furthermore, the Morduch empire’s chosen abhorrent strategy has been revealed to be an action against the best interest of the people of this nation. (Criminal action?)
Make haste this nation’s patriotic Senators and opposition Government Ministers, to enable the sought after ‘wide terms of reference’ Royal Commission into the Morduch broadcast and published propaganda-like distorted news,to halt this same being played out against the people of our nation.
Malcolm Turnbull and Kevin Rudd are receiving pensions as they were elected by Australians to become government ministers, and a pension when they retire is the nominated amount at that time.
The lies, fake news, the truth is twisted and as bent as barbed wire in the circles of all current media outlets.
Turnbull and Rudd are acting as Australian citizens should in pursuing Murdoch et al to the full extent of every legal situation available to them, and the fact that an enormous amount of support for them has been published proves that a large majority of Australians, including those who didn’t sign the petition have to contend with the corrupted media articles and reports for too many years.
Turnbull and Rudd as ex-ministers of the Australian government and the K C of A site do not require comments based on the ex-ministers past and their pensions, that is completely irrelevant.
Good luck to them in the pursuit of totally satisfactory outcome.
Perhaps you would prefer a wall to wall sky presentation of the facts. ABC has been the only free to air source of facts. Trouble is now it is being beaten into submission by the Murdoch Government, who control who gets what money.
This is personal for Rudd and Turnbull, nothing more, nothing less. Their media presence have enabled Rudd’s petition to obtain that number of signatures. Kevin Rudd, especially, has turned into a media whore and chases publicity so his opinions can go more public. He is a master player of social media.
Our elected officials will have the final say and not sycophants of Rudd and Turnbull (if he has any) or those of Rupert Murdoch and his media organisations.
Elected officials LOL, so you trust the Government to do anything about this. They will not kill the Goose that lays the Golden Eggs.
Surely people do not think Rudd and Turnbull are doing this for the sake of the Nation. Could they possibly be part of an International push? Who knows? What I do know is that if anyone tries to create some kind of balance in the argument they will get quickly pounced upon e.g. “You sound like a Sky News reporter doing the old look over there routine”. Get a grip people!
I notice you didn’t mention the 501,876 people who signed the petition.
With respect, I didn’t think it necessary. Your argument is fully explained in your post, mine is just another view in the comments section.
Interesting…Have you heard about the investigation into the veracity of many signatures, like Nachos and Cream?
Murdoch’s News Corp wrote the story
We have seen the Murdoch effect in the anglosphere for over half a century. Always biased, always with scant regard for fact, and the base cause of dysfunctional politics in the UK, Britain and Australia. The fact that Murdoch supported Trump, Johnson and Morrison tells you everything about why his media licenses should be reviewed and ultimately taken away. The US has never been closer to insurgency, the Brits are going down the toilet economically and we have ditched the most inept and possibly corrupt government since Federation. Rupert thrives on chaos and division, as long as he profits. His outlet tapping efforts in Britain alone should have killed off every media license he had. He should not have regional TV licenses. He should not have media monopoly anywhere.