Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has launched a national petition calling for a royal commission into News Corp’s dominance of the Australian media landscape.
Rudd, labelling the “Murdoch Media” as a “cancer on democracy”, launched the petition through the Parliament House website on Saturday.
So far the petition has 83,343 signatures, however in Australia there is no threshold that requires a petition to be debated in parliament.
The petition calls for a diverse source of independent news outlets, but says media ownership is becoming more concentrated in Australia, and new business models are being developed that “encourage deliberately polarising and politically manipulated news.”
“We are especially concerned that Australia’s print media is overwhelmingly controlled by News Corporation, founded by Fox News billionaire Rupert Murdoch, with around two-thirds of daily newspaper readership,” the petition reads.
“This power is 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.”
Australians have watched with growing anger at what the Murdoch media monopoly is doing to our country. A cancer on democracy.
— Office of Kevin Rudd, 26th PM of Australia (@MrKRudd) October 9, 2020
Today I am launching a national petition to establish a #MurdochRoyalCommission.
If you value our democracy, please sign here: https://t.co/FjfK7ij7YQ pic.twitter.com/gIGfmMF49W
The petition points to the emergence of online “monopolies”, such as Facebook and Google, the takeover of Fairfax Media by Nine and the closure of “more than 200” smaller newspapers.
“Only a Royal Commission would have the powers and independence to investigate threats to media diversity, and recommend policies to ensure optimal diversity across all platforms to help guarantee our nation’s democratic future,” the petition reads.
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