After Crikey’s special edition looking into the relationship between Murdoch media and US President Donald Trump, we put some questions to those who might be able to influence Murdoch’s reign. We didn’t receive a lot in response.
So, we asked again.
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese was asked whether it was time for the government to act, whether Labor would ban Rupert Murdoch from entering Australia, whether media organisations had become too powerful and should be broken up, and if outlets should be held responsible in their role of hosting misinformation.
A spokesperson from Albanese’s office referred Crikey to Labor communications spokeswoman Michelle Rowland, who was asked the same questions.
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A spokesperson from Rowland’s office then referred Crikey to shadow assistant minister for communications Tim Watts. His office did not respond by deadline.
A spokesperson for Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack referred Crikey to “the very clear statements” McCormack had made on censorship this week.
McCormack criticised Twitter and other social media sites for suspending Trump’s accounts following the Capitol Hill riot, saying the sites didn’t act when a doctored image of an Australian soldier threatening a child was shared by a Chinese official.
“There’s been a lot of people who have said and done a lot of things on Twitter previously that haven’t received that sort of condemnation or indeed censorship. But I’m not one who believes in that sort of censorship,” McCormack said on Monday.
Yesterday a spokesperson for Communications Minister Paul Fletcher told Crikey he would not be commenting, while a spokesperson for Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said that chair Rod Sims was on leave, and that quotes from Sims featured in articles about the power of tech giants published today had been made before Christmas.
We will update tomorrow.
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Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese was asked whether it was time for the government to act, whether Labor would ban Rupert Murdoch from entering Australia …’
‘We will update tomorrow.’
Please don’t bother.
When you are in Opposition your authority is…..NIL. The ALP need to get into power before they can do anything. Rudd and Turnbull are no longer politicians so they can mouth off all they like. NewsCorpse would go after the Opposition in their many outlets to do so and cruel the ALP’s chances at the next election. Better to bide your time.
Not complaining about Albanese or Labor but about the question put to him and others by the Crikey reporter. How can you ban an Australian citizen, dual national or not, from entering Australia (aside from limiting numbers on health grounds)? We’ve just seen how a leader in a ostensibly democratic country like the US can undermine the rule of law and we think that’s the answer here because we hate Murdoch?
Understand. Part of the reason that Australia should remove Dual Citizenship. You are either Australian or you are not a Citizen. The US is the worst example of Democracy and we need to reduce ties with them rather than increase ties. We do not need Murdoch amd his ilk in Australia.
‘Australia should remove Dual Citizenship. You are either Australian or you are not a Citizen‘
Why the strong nativism? Quite black and white or simplistic, while ignoring the nuance of related issues with mixed families, living elsewhere etc. while many sole Australian citzens can be as criminal or unethical as anybody else….?
Yet… British subjects resident in Oz pre ’83 are allowed to vote without citizenship? Never heard a whisper…..
It reduces the potential for allegiances to other nations, makes it easier to refuse entry to individuals like Murdoch and ensures that we are only responsible for people fully committed to Australia. If you wish to become a Citizen of any Nation, you should forego any allegiance to other nations. That includes the UK as well. As to voting, no Citizenship, no vote. BTW. I have a mixed family so I dont accept that argument. It doesnt prevent anything. If you choose to live elsewhere long term, you should become a citizen of that Nation and surrender your Australian Citizenship.
Still does not hold any logic speaking on behalf of all citizens and non citizens or family, with a simplistic solution to fix an imagined problem?
Further, if dual citizenship and related is the issue, then Australian citizens working for multinationals or global companies would also have questionable loyalty to Australia vs. employer (if not, no job)?
Some decades ago we had the potential of SAL and QANTAS tie up or merger good for both ends; then BA swooped in to buy part ownership of QF to preclude SAL, when led by an Australian…… this was admitted years later….
It’s not a simplistic “solution” and has nothing to do with family or your employer. You can work for multinationals, work overseas etc (I have done all of these) without changing citizenship and your comment about leadership of companies and family make no sense. I have done all these things without holding Dual Citizenship.
It’s about allegiance to your chosen country. You can’t have two political masters.
Section 44 of the Constitution prohibits dual citizens from being in the House of Representatives or the Senate. This would be no more than an extension of that amd would, at least, assist in preventing people from changing allegiances whenever it suits them.
Think of a dual Australian/British Citizen recently released from Iran. What did the British do? Why did Australia have to assist? Only Australian when it suits them.
Quite a number of other nations already require this.
Completely disagree. The sort of reductionist nationalism you’re supporting is unnecessary. Leave it to the person. We should let dual citizens be MPs, it’s a ridiculous restriction in an immigrant nation and might improve the calibre of those who stand for office – wouldn’t be hard. Then there are the Indigenous Australians who have an entirely different sense of belonging to country. The world is connected and humanity is global whether you want to see it like that or not.
Not the slightest glimpse of a backbone anywhere.
Certainly not in the lnp ranks.
Don’t ever worry about putting a Q to Flitcher. He never gives an answer.
The US Digital Media Giants are making Billions from Australians but not paying any realistic tax.
So News Corp submits a “Code” to the ACCC to force Rupert Murdoch’s US competitors, Google and Facebook out of his monopoly Australian territory or pay him the bulk of any ‘shakedown money’.
The Morrison Murdoch protection racket is fringed with the politicisation of Public Offices bending to the will of the Morrison Government.
The secrecy and subterfuge in the public service Is a sure sign of institutional Fascism.
Speak up.
A Royal commission into Media power exercised for and by Government is urgent.
So our deputy PM honestly thinks there is a similarity between the Chinese cartoon which hurt nothing but a limited number of sensitive feelings and inciting an attack on US Congress resulting in at least four deaths. There’s a real world here that his compass totally missed.
If Murdoch’s customer base were to be reduced to rusted on conservatives and right-wing nut-jobs, maybe he would see a need to rethink his business model. So don’t buy any Murdoch publication, don’t click on Murdoch sites, don’t subscribe to them. Cancel your Foxtel subscription. Urge family, friends and colleagues to do the same. Also random people in the street if you can pull that off without seeing too weird.