Hacking scandal separate from Australian media debate

Voters should be worried when a government struggling in the polls raises the issue of media censorship.

Apart from a very obvious attempt to change the channel for her government, Julia Gillard's support for an inquiry into Australia's media in the wake of the News of the World phone hacking scandal could be seen as threatening the media's legitimate involvement in the debate over her most contentious policy.

While the carbon tax has been a consistent stumbling block for the Prime Minister, she also finds herself the leader of a Party with the lowest recorded approval rating in Australian history. What better time to change the subject?

In recent weeks the heat surrounding the News of the World scandal has been turned up.

After it was reported that the phone of a 13 year old murder victim had been hacked by a private investigator working for the paper, head's began to roll. These heads included those of News International CEO Rebecca Brooks, senior members of the Metropolitan Police and ultimately the newspaper itself, which printed its final edition earlier this month.

While these incidents, and the culture they reflect at this individual paper, are disgraceful, they are also isolated.

There has been no evidence that this type of behavior has occurred in Australia. We have been assured by John Hartigan, the chairman and chief executive of the Australian arm of Rupert Murdoch's News International empire, News Limited, that this is the case. He has even ordered an audit of editorial expenditure to provide further proof.

Even Greens Leader Bob Brown agrees. He said recently that he is "not aware of any phone hacking in Australia". Despite this, Senator Brown has been making headlines of his own by attacking sections of the press who he has labeled the 'hate media'.

His use of the term is not aimed at journalists advocating for the detention of asylum seeker children in Malaysia or the anti-Semitic boycott of Israeli products, but rather at newspapers like The Australian, The Herald Sun and The Daily Telegraph.

Brown's point is that criticism of him, his party or their policies is, in his own words, "doing a great disservice to the nation". So it comes as no surprise that his considered response to the scandal in the UK has been to call for a media inquiry in Australia.

Julia Gillard has also entertained these calls, going so far as to claim that News Limited, has 'hard questions' to answer. Although she has refused to go into the detail of what these questions might be.

One question that should be asked of Bob Brown and Julia Gillard is what link they see between what has happened in the UK and the role for a debate around media regulation in Australia.

The phone hacking scandal must not be linked to calls for increased media regulation. The two issues are completely separate.

It is unlikely that the Greens - Labor agenda, at least in the short term, is to bring down Murdoch's Australian newspaper empire. However, a media inquiry that opens up the ability for a regulator to control benefits and consequences may offer a powerful stick and carrot which could impact on the way news is reported here.

When Julia Gillard addressed the National Press Club in Canberra this month she had a relatively simple message regarding journalistic ethics, "Don't write crap… Can't be that hard… And when you have written complete crap… you should correct it".

The question for the Prime Minister is, who is the judge when it comes to what is 'crap' and what isn't? In a western democracy like Australia which has always protected the right of citizens to a free press, is it really the role of government to censor the media?

Federal Communications Minister Stephen Conroy certainly seems to think so. Senator Conroy has said he is anxious to discuss the possibility of an inquiry with Bob Brown upon his return from holidays. Although, why wouldn't he be? Conroy is after all the Minister who is attempting to censor Australians' access to the internet via a 'clean feed' internet filter.

One area which should be considered in this debate is the role for individual privacy in our society. This is the issue at the heart of the phone hacking scandal and is much more relevant than a witch hunt against one media owner.

Late last week the government released a discussion paper about the creation of legislation allowing Australians to sue for serious invasions of privacy. This is a much more worthy path and would empower individuals with the right to protect their privacy and reputations through the courts.

Upon reflection it may be unfair to categorise the Prime Minister's comments as solely about switching the agenda away from an unpopular policy.

It may be that this government really does think there is a place for stronger media regulation, after all regulating behavior is in their DNA. In addition to the carbon tax look at initiatives like the alcopops tax, the push for plain packaged cigarettes or even entertaining Andrew Wilkie's call for pre-commitment on gambling.

This government loves control, and Australia's free press may well be their next target.