Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

I seek leave to table an explanatory memorandum relating to the bill.

Leave granted.

I table an explanatory memorandum and seek leave to have the second reading speech incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speech read as follows—

It's time for a Royal Commission into the Murdoch media machine. Today I am introducing a bill for an inquiry that will have powers like those of a Royal Commission.

The Murdoch media machine is dangerous for Australian democracy and it is time politicians stop being afraid to question the control and influence that they have in this country. This bill will establish a parliamentary commission of inquiry into the Murdoch media and media diversity in Australia. This commission will have powers like those of a Royal Commission, including resources and the ability to compel witnesses. It will report to the parliament, rather than the government.

The pressure for a Royal Commission into the Murdoch media has been building for a long time. More than two years ago, half a million Australians signed the parliament's biggest ever petition calling for a Royal Commission. The people who signed this petition were sending a message to us here in parliament that they are worried about the state of our public interest journalism and our democracy and they were asking us for action. Two years down the track and after a change of government, we are yet to see any change.

Politicians have been afraid of the Murdoch media for far too long. We've heard from former prime ministers that there is a culture of fear across the country when it comes to the Murdoch media. How is it that we have got to a place that even our prime ministers, the most powerful leaders in the country, are afraid of the power wielded by a single media mogul?

What we've got in this country is a media sector that is overwhelmingly concentrated, more than in many other comparable countries in the world. We need media diversity as it is a public good and helps provide integrity in public interest journalism. In regional Australia in particular, local news should be delivered by local journalists.

I chaired the Senate inquiry into Media Diversity, a long running inquiry that heard extensive evidence of the poor behaviour, culture and ethics of the Murdoch media machine. We heard appalling stories about the sexist treatment of women that were photographed for their papers, the full blown climate denialism that has held us back from meaningful action in this country for over a decade and the character assassinations of individuals and so much more. It's time that they are held to account.

The terms of reference for this inquiry specifically direct this commission to look into the "Foxification" of media outlets operating in Australia and the potential that this has to undermine trust in public institutions and public interest journalism. We have seen from recent overseas examples just how easily these types of 'news' outlets can be weaponised. The January 6th attacks on the US Capitol should be a warning to all leaders around the world, our democracy is only as stable as the information sources that it is built on. The United States is now firmly in a post-truth world and if we are not careful, we could face the same fate here.

We've known for a long time that the Murdoch machine has not been trustworthy. But now we see, through the court filings released from the Dominion case, just how much power this corporation wields, how much power the Murdoch empire is willing to use against its political opponents and just how much they are willing to lie to their audiences to maintain their viewership and profitability. Filings have shown that Fox News executives and presenters and even Rupert Murdoch himself knew that the election was not stolen from Donald Trump, yet they continued to peddle these lies to hold on to their viewership. If that wasn't bad enough, there was also confirmation in court documents that Fox News was acting as part of Trump's campaign when confidential information about the Biden campaign's ads was handed directly to Trump's people.

What is going on at Fox News and inside the Murdoch machine is not journalism. It is political propaganda. It is the promotion of lies. It is the promotion of conspiracy theories. And it is all in the pursuit of power. Australians in this country have known for a long time that the collection of Murdoch rags, the rubbish that is spewed out on Fox News and on Sky News, is false. That's why we need a Royal Commission.

Only an inquiry with the powers of a Royal Commission can uncover the extent of the Murdoch media's influence and control over our democracy and fully examine media concentration in Australia.

Australia's media regulations are not fit for purpose in the modern world. This Commission will also examine the regulatory regime for media ownership and operation in Australia and make recommendations to the parliament for how to update these laws. This is long overdue and essential work to make sure that we can limit the misinformation and disinformation that is spread through our media, whether that's through traditional print and broadcast or online.

This inquiry is not about politicians being able to control what newspapers write about us. Far from it. Journalists should be able to question governments, hold governments to account and know that when they have a good story, when they are onto something, that they can have that published and believed. But right now, we have a broken media landscape in this country. The Murdoch media controls two thirds of the newspapers and these outlets platform hysteria, lies, mistruths and opinion over journalism and prioritise opinion over fact. They set the agenda that other media outlets follow and our democracy is weaker for it.

We need to fix the media landscape in this country; we need laws and regulations that are fit for purpose. And it shouldn't be up to the politicians to pick and choose. This needs to be at arms' length and that is why we need a Royal Commission, and we need one today.

I ask all of my colleagues who entered this place because they believed in service to their country and to their community to join me in standing up to the Murdoch bullies for the sake of our communities and our democracy.

I commend this bill to the Senate.

I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.