• Advertise
  • About us
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Contact us
Friday, May 20, 2022
Australian Times News
  • News
    • Weather
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Business & Finance
      • Currency Zone
    • Lotto Results
      • The Lott
      • UK Lottery
      • UK Lotto
      • EuroMillions
  • Lifestyle
    • Horoscopes
    • Health & Wellness
    • Recipes
    • Video
  • Entertainment
  • Travel
  • Expat Life
  • Move to Australia
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Weather
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Business & Finance
      • Currency Zone
    • Lotto Results
      • The Lott
      • UK Lottery
      • UK Lotto
      • EuroMillions
  • Lifestyle
    • Horoscopes
    • Health & Wellness
    • Recipes
    • Video
  • Entertainment
  • Travel
  • Expat Life
  • Move to Australia
No Result
View All Result
Australian Times News
No Result
View All Result
Home News

ELECTION 2013: Never spoken to Murdoch about NBN: Abbott

AUSTRALIAN ELECTION 13 | Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is being thin-skinned and needs to accept media outlets won't always back him or Labor, the opposition says.

Australian Times by Australian Times
08-08-2013 15:01
in News

PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd is being thin-skinned and needs to accept media outlets won’t always back him or Labor, the opposition says.

Mr Rudd has called on Opposition Leader Tony Abbott to reveal his dealings with News Corp chief Rupert Murdoch, who has print, broadcast and other media assets in Australia.

Labor claims Mr Murdoch’s media outlets are hostile to its $37.4 billion high-speed national broadband network (NBN) because it could pose a commercial threat to News Corp’s half-owned pay TV business Foxtel.

Mr Rudd further suggests a “strange coincidence of interests” between News Corp and the coalition, which says its alternative NBN plan is cheaper and won’t take as long.

But Mr Abbott says he’s never discussed Labor’s NBN project with Mr Murdoch, even though he speaks with him occasionally.

“Have I ever spoken to Rupert Murdoch about the NBN? No I haven’t, no I haven’t,” he told reporters in the federal seat of Bass in Tasmania on Thursday.

Coalition communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull said Mr Murdoch’s view on the NBN dovetails with that of other business people who believe it’s too expensive and is being mismanaged.

AlsoRead...

May's Weather Forecast

Weather Forecast 20 May 2022

20 May 2022
Monkeypox detected in the UK and US this week but no cause for alarm

Monkeypox detected in the UK and US this week but no cause for alarm

19 May 2022

“So Rupert Murdoch’s views on the NBN are very mundane,” he said.

A number of News Corp mastheads have been critical of Labor’s NBN and Mr Murdoch himself has questioned how the government could afford it.

Mr Rudd said Mr Murdoch had a “democratic right” to rail against Labor’s policies through his publications but wondered what was behind it.

New Corp’s The Daily Telegraph newspaper printed an editorial under the headline: “Kick this mob out” on day one of the federal election campaign.

Another Telegraph story on Thursday about Deputy Prime Minister Anthony Albanese having a beer with former Labor MP Craig Thomson included a mock-up of Mr Albanese, Mr Rudd and Mr Thomson as Nazi characters from American sitcom Hogan’s Heroes.

“Senior politicians have to accept that sometimes media outlets will back them and sometimes they won’t,” Mr Abbott said.

Mr Abbott pointed to Mr Rudd’s meetings with Mr Murdoch in New York in 2007 and 2010.

“The News group backed Mr Rudd in 2007 – he was very happy to accept their support then,” he added.

“I just think the problem is we’ve got a prime minister with a glass jaw and a thin skin.”

Also read about:  How to enrol and vote in the 2013 Australian election from the UK

Mr Rudd said he wasn’t aware of ever discussing the NBN with Mr Murdoch.

“I haven’t spoken to Mr Murdoch for about three years,” he added.

Australian Greens leader Christine Milne believes there’s no doubt Mr Murdoch’s interests are running a “massive campaign against the Labor Party and the Greens and to get the coalition in”.

News Corp executives have rejected suggestions the group’s targeting the NBN, saying the faster download speeds would accentuate its Foxtel business.

The earlier argument was consumers could opt use the NBN to download their own visual entertainment at home rather than pay for a Foxtel subscription.

Tags: Australia electionAustralian politicsKevin RuddLabor PartyLiberal PartypoliticsRupert MurdochTony Abbott
DMCA.com Protection Status

SUBSCRIBE to our NEWSLETTER

[mc4wp_form id=”2384248″]

Don't Miss

Horoscopes: 20 May 2022 – Friday

by Adamu
20 May 2022
Free Daily Horoscope - Astrology
Horoscopes

Keep your karma positive with these daily free horoscopes!

Read more

Weather Forecast 20 May 2022

by Adamu
20 May 2022
May's Weather Forecast
Australia Weather

Be prepared for any weather with our daily weather forecast for Australia.

Read more

How And Where To Get The Best Hair Transplant In Turkey

by Alan Aldridge
20 May 2022
Image credit: https://cosmedica.com/
Lifestyle

These patients don't just go for the premium treatment but also to enjoy it at a very reduced cost. This...

Read more

Kendrick Lamar announces new tour dates for Melbourne and Sydney

by Shannon Alexander
20 May 2022
Kendrick Lamar announces new tour dates for Melbourne and Sydney
Lifestyle

Kendrick Lamar released his new album Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers on May 13th and now he is set...

Read more

Johnny Depp: A documentary titled Johnny vs Amber to be released

by Shannon Alexander
19 May 2022
Johnny Depp: A documentary titled Johnny vs Amber to be released
Lifestyle

While the media and the public has their eyes set on Johnny Depp and Amber Heard, Discovery channel will be...

Read more

Monkeypox detected in the UK and US this week but no cause for alarm

by Shannon Alexander
19 May 2022
Monkeypox detected in the UK and US this week but no cause for alarm
News

The US and the UK has reported a few cases of Mokeypox this week. But health authorities in Australia says...

Read more

Taylor Swift graduates from NYU with an Honorary doctorate

by Shannon Alexander
19 May 2022
Taylor Swift graduates from NYU with an Honorary doctorate
Lifestyle

The swifties are in such a frenzy as their favorite artist Taylor Swift has graduated from the New York University...

Read more
Load More

Copyright © Blue Sky Publications Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
australiantimes.co.uk is a division of Blue Sky Publications Ltd. Reproduction without permission prohibited. DMCA.com Protection Status

  • About us
  • Write for Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact us
  • T&Cs, Privacy and GDPR
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Weather
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Business & Finance
      • Currency Zone
    • Lotto Results
      • The Lott
      • UK Lottery
      • UK Lotto
      • EuroMillions
  • Lifestyle
    • Horoscopes
    • Health & Wellness
    • Recipes
    • Video
  • Entertainment
  • Travel
  • Expat Life
  • Move to Australia

Copyright © Blue Sky Publications Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
australiantimes.co.uk is a division of Blue Sky Publications Ltd. Reproduction without permission prohibited. DMCA.com Protection Status