Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has put his support behind a royal commission into News Corp.
Kevin Rudd launched a petition a petition to the Australian parliament two weeks ago, comparing the Murdoch media empire to a ‘cancer’ and suggesting the organisation had used its dominance to “chill free speech and undermine public debate”.
Over the weekend, Turnbull took to Twitter to reveal he had signed the petition, along with nearly 400,000 other Australians.
“Kevin has done well to get this petition going. I doubt it will result in a Royal Commission and Murdoch’s print monopoly (since 1987) is only part of the problem. But I have signed it and encourage others to do so,” Turnbull said.
Kevin has done well to get this petition going. I doubt it will result in a Royal Commission and Murdoch’s print monopoly (since 1987) is only part of the problem. But I have signed it and encourage others to do so. https://t.co/TbY7vW3MSu pic.twitter.com/oyykAMWq5q
— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) October 24, 2020
Rudd responded to his fellow former Prime Minister, suggesting this campaign goes beyond partisan politics.
“Good to have you on board, @TurnbullMalcolm. Supporting media diversity isn’t about left or right, Labor or Liberal, but preserving the lifeblood of our democracy,” he said on Twitter.
