Kevin Rudd says Australian politicians ‘frightened’ of ‘Murdoch media beast’ in Senate inquiry

The former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd has declared that Australian politicians are frightened of Rupert Murdoch – a fear that persisted when he was in the top job and subsided only when he left politics.

Speaking under parliamentary privilege at Parliament House in Canberra, Rudd said the “Murdoch mob” was seeking “compliant politicians”. He told an inquiry into media diversity that politicians were fearful of facing a “systematic campaign”.

“Everyone’s frightened of Murdoch. They really are. There’s a culture of fear across the country,” said Rudd, who has become an outspoken critic of the Murdoch media’s dominant role in the Australian print media.

The former Labor prime minister said the unspoken word about Murdoch in Parliament House was that “it’s not in your personal political interests ever to go after Rupert Murdoch or Lachlan Murdoch because they’ll get ya”.

Rudd said this culture of fear about the Murdoch media monopoly was “just dead wrong for any democracy”.

“The truth is as prime minister I was still fearful of the Murdoch media beast,” he said.

“When did I stop being fearful? Probably when I walked out of the building in 2013.”

Rudd said he had had many discussions with the former Coalition prime minister Malcolm Turnbull over this culture of fear in recent times.

“No one should be frightened of Murdoch, but can I tell you, he’s a frightening kind of guy, because of the power he wields,” Rudd said.

News Corp executives hit back at Rudd when they fronted the media diversity inquiry, chaired by Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young, shortly after the former prime minister gave evidence.

The company argued that “democracy is messy” and it relied on “the robust and open exchange of news, views and opinions and a recognition that all people have a right to hear a range of views”.

Michael Miller, the executive chairman of News Corp Australasia, dismissed “the sloganeering” about the influence of the paper’s editors, saying the country currently had nine federal, state and territory governments – four of them Coalition-run and five Labor-run.

Miller denied the company engaged in “character assassination”, saying the real issue was “trolls” and “nameless people” on social media who did not back up statements of claim.

“I’d say that character assassinations if there are any out there are happening on social media, and I’ve felt that first hand,” Miller said.

“I disagree with the word assassination. We ask tough questions.”

Rudd used the appearance to continue his campaign for a royal commission into the Murdoch media and broader issues of media diversity.

“The reason I’m here senators is because more than half a million Australians signed a petition,” he said, noting that was “quite a large number”. It was “a big call from the Australian people” to look deeply and carefully at media diversity for future of democracy.

Rudd said he was still seeking a royal commission and it should look not just at the Murdoch monopoly but also the emerging monopolies of Google and Facebook.

Rudd said that in the 19 most recent federal and state elections over the past decade, the Murdoch media “campaigned viciously for one side of politics” – the Liberal and National parties – and against the Labor party.

Rudd made a generalised comment that he believed “monopoly has a real danger of encouraging over time corruption”.

Rudd also contended that media monopolies “destroy alternative media voices” and he criticised News Corp for shutting down regional newspapers during the Covid-19 crisis last year.

He says another reason to have a royal commission was his “deep and abiding concern for climate change”. Rudd told the Senate committee Murdoch was “a climate change denialist”.

Since he first introduced legislation for a price on carbon in 2009, Rudd said there had been “this rolling systematic campaign” against climate action. He cited what he described as an “organised coalition between the Murdoch empire and the carbon lobby”.

Miller later rejected that claim, dismissing it as “an assumption and position put by others”. Miller said Rudd and Turnbull had chosen to blame Murdoch for their failure to persuade their colleagues and parliament of sensible climate policy, which he described as a “convenient diversion for their own failings”.

Miller accepted, however, that “Australians expect more from companies” when it comes to taking climate action and he had explained to staff that “we need to do more in this area”.

News Corp executives also promised to make enquiries into concerns aired during the Senate inquiry that Sky News contributor Lauren Southern had promoted the theory that white people were subject to an orchestrated “Great Replacement” by means of non-white immigration.

The Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi said that Southern had produced a viral YouTube video in 2017 on the great replacement theory and asked “why News Corp has on its payroll a person who promoted a conspiracy theory that ended up inspiring the Christchurch terrorist”.

Miller said he was not familiar with the video, but “what you are suggesting does concern me” and said he would make enquiries.

Southern responded to the comments by Faruqi by tweeting that her video did not inspire any shooting, “the Christchurch shooter never watched my content and I was not named in the [royal commission] report once.” She added that she would take legal action. It’s not clear what form that action would take since Faruqi’s comments are protected by parliamentary privilege.

Rudd had earlier raised concern about the potential building of an “alternative political ecosystem out there on the far-right”.

Rudd said Murdoch’s Fox News in America had seen “the most unfounded conspiracy theories become gospel truth”.

He pointed to the storming of the US Capitol building on 6 January by Trump supporters who believed unfounded claims that the presidential election had been stolen.

“What I worry about in this country is that Sky News is becoming the vehicle for the Fox News-isation of Australia,” Rudd said.

The former prime minister said his concern was not just the broadcast output, but the “huge” Sky News online presence. He asked “what happens with this ecosystem” in Australia in the next five to 10 years.

Rudd was challenged by some Coalition senators whether News Corp was the only media outlet to perform character assassinations.

“No, but they’ve taken the art to science,” he replied.

Rudd held up a front page of the Herald Sun showing “Dan-made disaster”, attacking the Labor premier Daniel Andrews’ handling of Covid-19.

Rudd also fielded questions about tweets by Australian Broadcasting Corporation reporters. Asked whether he believed it was the ABC’s role to “balance out” the Murdoch media, Rudd said: “No, I see its role to provide a fair and balanced platform for news reporting across the country.”

Now backed by philanthropists after its media owners sold out last year, Australian Associated Press chief executive Emma Cowdroy, chairwoman Jonty Low and editor Andrew Drummond told the inquiry one of the most efficient ways of supporting media diversity is to ensure the national newswire is properly resourced.

“Take AAP out of the equation and it’s even worse,” Rudd said.

The competition watchdog says its two key concerns about diversity are the impact of tech giants Google and Facebook and ensuring the viability of an independent national newswire.

“I am personally delighted that the AAP newswire has survived,” Miller said.

Nine chief executive Hugh Marks also called for the government to stick to its plan to legislate the media bargaining code and rejected Rudd’s call for a royal commission.

But he was concerned about Facebook’s decision to limit Australians’ access to news.

• AAP contributed to this report