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News Corp subsidiary probed in Australia
Sarah Mishkin, Financial Times Hong Kong 23 November
DATELINE: 24/11/11
Police in Australia are investigating reports that an executive at News Corp's local subsidiary met an Australian Senator in 1998 and offered him favourable coverage in exchange for his support on a bill then before Australia's parliament.
The allegations come as both the UK and Australia are holding public inquiries into media standards, sparked by the revelations that reporters at a News Corp subsidiary in the UK had hacked into the mobile phones of celebrities and other members of the public.
News Limited confirmed Malcolm Colless, a then senior executive, met then Senator Bill O'Chee for lunch. However, the subsidiary denied the reported allegations that Mr Colless promised positive coverage if Mr O'Chee opposed a bill concerning the creation of digital television in the country.
According to the report in Fairfax Media – a rival to News Limited, and which first reported the investigation – Lachlan Murdoch, son of chairman Rupert Murdoch, had attended part of the lunch meeting at a restaurant in Brisbane.
"I think this is a very serious matter, and I look forward to it being thoroughly investigated by the Australian federal police. My recollection of events is incredibly clear," Mr O'Chee, who had been a senator from 1990 until he lost his seat in 1999, told the Financial Times on Wednesday.
News Ltd, which controls 70 per cent of the local newspaper market, has not been accused of phone hacking but the country's Labor-led government has said its coverage is unethically slanted. The company denies those accusations.
Earlier this month, Rupert Murdoch replaced John Hartigan, long-time chairman and chief executive of News Ltd, as the chairman. Several people close to the company had said at the time that they expected his son, Lachlan, to take over the Australian operations.
Australia's Federal Police began an investigation into the incident on November 4 after the case was referred to them, said a spokesperson, who declined to comment further as the investigation is ongoing.
News Ltd said in a statement on Wednesday that "the executive referred to in today's report, Malcolm Colless, has confirmed that no improper conversation took place during the 1998 lunch."
Two other guests at the lunch said they did not hear any improper conversations, and neither News Ltd nor Mr Colless has been contacted by Australia's federal police, according to the company's statement.
The incident was brought to the attention of the federal police by a current Australian member of parliament to whom Mr O'Chee had relayed the story, and police then approached the former senator for his statement.
According to the report that appeared in Fairfax Media newspapers, Mr O'Chee told police that the News Ltd executive said to him that "we will take care of you" if he were criticised for opposing the digital conversation legislation.
Last modified: Thursday, November 24, 2011
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Previous stories
Media Ownership
James Murdoch resigns from Sun and Times boards
Ofcom media plurality review gets more than 45,000 submissions
Why I believe it's all over for James Murdoch
Campaign grows to oust Murdoch
Phone-hacking: building the campaign for change
Parliament debates media ownership
News International to sell Wapping site
Wapping and the Miners' strike - making the connections
Down the Lane
Brooks goes down in flames
Lord Justice Leveson's inquiry: A chance at last to expose hidden collusion
Murdoch blinks
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News Corp's BSkyB bid referred to regulator
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Hunt to give final verdict on News Corp's BSkyB bid on 26 April
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Pic of the DCMS demo, Thursday 3 March
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