Ray Hadley won't apologise for calling Swan a liar and a boofhead
Andrew Clennell
The Daily Telegraph
July 13, 2012 12:00AM
DEPUTY Prime Minister Wayne Swan has taken 2GB's Ray Hadley to the broadcasting watchdog over a tirade in which Mr Hadley accused him of being a "boofhead" and a liar.
Hadley last night said it was the first time he had been referred to the Australian Communications and Media Authority by a politician, and vowed he would not say sorry.
The furore erupted after a Hadley interview with shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey on June 25, following a Daily Telegraph report on a proposal to cut free bottled water and fruit to school groups visiting parliament. On June 26 The Daily Telegraph acknowledged its report was incorrect, as it was a draft proposal which had been rejected.
Hadley and Mr Hockey both laid into Mr Swan, after Mr Swan emailed media criticising the initial report and saying the cuts were not going ahead.
Labor's manic obsession with media control continues unabated.
Mr Hockey called Mr Swan a liar and Hadley said: "I don't think he's lying, I just think he's a complete boofhead that didn't know what was happening." He also accused Mr Swan of lying before the election by saying claims there would be a carbon tax were "hysterically inaccurate".Mr Swan's office contacted Hadley's program and demanded a retraction concerning the bottled water and snacks. Hadley says he did go to air with a correction the next day when he confirmed a decision had been made before the story was published not to proceed with the cuts.
Listen to it all.
Mr Swan's complaint to ACMA claims Hadley should have issued a correction and his program should have telephoned Mr Swan's office before the Hockey interview.Hadley said last night: "They are trying to stifle debate in print (through proposals for media regulation), now he's trying to hop into the electronic media. I have been doing this for nearly 20 years . . . and to my knowledge no politician has gone to ACMA or the governing body looking for a remedy."
A spokesman for Mr Swan said the report was acknowledged as inaccurate by The Daily Telegraph and "it's important for its listeners that 2GB does the same".
News Ltd CEO Kim Williams vows to fight media censorship in the High Court if necessary
Jessica Leo
AdelaideNow
July 13, 20123:12PM
News Ltd CEO promises to fight proposed reforms
"Should be governed by the consumer, not governments"
Read the full speech here
NEWS Limited CEO Kim Williams today said he would go to the High Court to protect Australia's freedom of speech.
Speaking at an SA Press Club luncheon in Adelaide, Mr Williams said the Australian media landscape should be governed by the consumer, not governments.
Taking aim at the Finkelstein and Convergence reviews that are currently before the Federal Government, Mr Williams stressed the importance of free speech - and said he would go to great lengths to protect that right.
He said he is prepared to take the matter to the High Court if the recommendations in the reviews are implemented.
In his first public exchange with media since being appointed late late last year, Mr Williams also pointed to a consumer-first model of journalism where the public should govern the news of the day.
"Consumers anoint the winners, not governments or regulators," he said.
Mr Williams also spoke about the increasing diversity of the Australian media landscape and defended the quality of the country's journalism.
The Convergence Review, released in April, outlined recommendations for the new Australian media landscape drawn from more than 340 written submissions and 28,000 comments from a consultation programme across the country.
Its goal was to address "shortcomings" in regulatory frameworks developed in the 1990s.
The Finkelstein Report, the end product of a Greens-led independent inquiry into media standards and ownership in Australia, called for the establishment of a News Media Council.
The proposed council would be a government-funded statutory body with power across all media to set standards for all journalists, including bloggers and owners of websites drawing more than 15,000 visitors a
