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Fairfax boss calls on
Alston to stand down
Fairfax media group managing
director Stephen Mulholland has
called on the Liberal chairman of
the federal parliamentary media in
quiry, Richard Alston, to step aside
from the role for allegedly compro
mising his position.
Senator Alston said Mr Mulhol
land, a South African expatriate,
did not understand how public in
terest issues applied in Australia.
Mr Mulholland said Senator Al
ston had acted improperly by re
cently calling the editor of Fairfax's
Melbourne Age newspaper to try to
apply political pressure over a story
at a time when the inquiry was
looking at issues of reporting inde
pendence in relation to Fairfax.
The Senate inquiry he heads is
into whether Prime Minister Paul
Keating offered Canadian publisher
Conrad Black permission to expand
his foreign ownership stake in Fair
fax in return for less unfavourable
coverage of Labor before last year's
federal election.
"I believe he has acted improper
ly, that he has compromised him
self and that he has damaged the
credibility of this committee," Mr
Mulholland said.
Senator Alston said entirely dif
ferent issues were involved.
He said his discussion with Mr
Kohler was about the events of the
past week, while his committee was
inquiring into events of the past 2xh
years - stopping ait the last federal
election.
"If Mr Mulholland thinks that
somehow the public should not be
interested in secret deals done at the
highest level, then I don't think he
appreciates how the public interest
operates in this country," Senator
Alston said.
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