Fairfax Leading Jihad to Bring Down Abbott Government, Immigration
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Fairfax leading jihad to bring down Abbott Government, Immigration Minister Peter Dutton says By political reporters Susan McDonald and Tom Iggulden Updated 1 Sep 2015, 3:50pm Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has lashed out at Fairfax Media for leading what he calls a "jihad" against the Government. Mr Dutton has complained about Fairfax publishing stories on divisions in senior ranks and said he had a "fair idea" which ministers were leaking, although he refused to name them. Mr Dutton said there was a "huge move by Fairfax at the moment to try and bring the Government down". Key points: Peter Dutton accuses Fairfax of anti-Government "jihad" Says the ABC is helping Fairfax Dutton also calls for leakers to be sacked Shorten echoes Abbott line from 2013 in response "I think regardless of what Tony Abbott does, Fairfax will say it's bad," he told the ABC's AM program. Mr Dutton accused some journalists of overstepping their responsibilities, adding Fairfax was "being helped by the ABC". "They aren't supposed to be political players, they're supposed to be objective reporters of the news and I think many of them have morphed into frustrated politicians," he said. Mr Dutton stepped up his criticism on Sky Television: "The reality is that there is a bit of a jihad being conducted by Fairfax at the moment, [it's] hard to get a good story up in Fairfax, [they're] publishing stories without checking with my office, stories that are factually incorrect." Mr Dutton's attack on Fairfax echoes complaints about News Limited's political coverage from Julia Gillard when she was prime minister. Then-communications minister Stephen Conroy once accused the Rupert Murdoch-owned stable of trying to bring about "regime change". Fairfax journalists have been the recipients of several damaging leaks from Mr Abbott's Cabinet over recent months. Coalition sources have also regularly vented complaints about the Government's performance to the ABC. Leakers should be sacked, Dutton says Mr Dutton said he had his suspicions about which of his senior colleagues were leaking. "I think people can have a fair idea as to who is leaking," he told Channel Seven. When asked if they should be sacked, he said "of course they should be". But he declined to name who he believed was briefing the media. "We're not conducting some witch hunt. I just think people need to ... reflect on their own actions," he said. Warnings from the Prime Minister that leaks and backgrounding would not be tolerated have done little to stem the flow of damaging reports. Mr Dutton warned his colleagues they would hand the next election to Labor if they did not unite. "If people want to play mischief, then you know what happens," Mr Dutton said. "That's the consequence of parties that aren't unified. "The worst possible outcome would be to allow Bill Shorten and his union mates at the CFMEU to get into The Lodge, to get control of this country. "It would be a disaster for the economy." 'If you want better coverage, be a better government' Mr Shorten accused Mr Dutton of using "inflammatory language, associated with the war on terror, [to attack] the media doing their job in Australia". "Mr Abbott said when he was opposition leader in 2013, 'If you want better coverage, be a better government'," he added. "My advice to Peter Dutton is: if you want better coverage, be a better government." Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the media could choose its own issues. "Our focus is not on the media, our focus is on delivering good policy outcomes for the Australian people," he said. "Peter Dutton has [the] right to say that the media has been making mischief. They're trying to play up these leadership tensions and instability and targeting particular ministers. "The media is entirely right to focus on the issues that it wants to." The latest internal chatter surrounding Treasurer Joe Hockey prompted Liberal senator Arthur Sinodinos to slam ministers for briefing journalists against colleagues. Social Services Minister Scott Morrison is considered Mr Hockey's most likely replacement, but said he was not aware of a push to remove Mr Hockey. "It's speculative nonsense, I'm not going to indulge this fantasy of yours," he told AM. "Joe's a great bloke and he's doing a tremendous job." .