[July 15, 2011] BRIEF: Call for media inquiry sees few takers in Australia Tweet SYDNEY, Jul 15, 2011 (dpa - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- A call for more scrutiny of the press in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal in Britain failed to garner support Friday as government and opposition politicians both declared their faith in current media monitoring in Australia. "I don't think the Australian media reflects the kind of problems we've seen recently in Britain," opposition Liberal Party leader Tony Abbott said. He was responding to Greens leader Bob Brown's demand for an independent review of both ethics and ownership after allegations that News of the World, a British tabloid owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, hacked into the mobile phones of murdered schoolgirls, families of victims of a London terrorist attack, top officials and other public figures. Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan also distanced himself from Brown's demand, saying he preferred self-regulation. "I accept the statement from the chief executive of News Ltd that they've not engaged in these practices," Swan said of News Corp's Australia arm, "and I note they're having an investigation of what's gone on in terms of their organization." John Hartigan, News Ltd chief executive, declared he would cooperate with any inquiry but insisted one was not necessary. To see more of dpa, go to http://www.dpa.de/English.82.0.html Copyright (c) 2011, dpa, Berlin Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]