Oppose Gina Rinehart

Mining magnate Gina Rinehart has just bought a major stake in Fairfax media -- in a bid that could turn The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald into mouthpieces for climate denial to protect her mining interests. But together we can foil her plan.

Rinehart has already bought Channel Ten’s agenda -- and Australia’s ownership restrictions need urgent reform to end her latest assault on Fairfax. The media inquiry that Avaaz members helped win is just weeks away from reporting, and provides the government with the crucial chance to act. Communications Minister Stephen Conroy is supportive of stronger ownership limits -- but he needs a community outcry to get the whole government on board.

Sign the petition to Minister Conroy now to ensure a mogul-free Australian media. When the petition reaches 50,000 signatures, we’ll spectacularly deliver the massive message in Canberra:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_ginas_mining_media/?vl

Gina Rinehart is Australia’s richest person, and she’s poised to buy political influence. Her campaign against the mining tax lead directly to the sacking of former PM Kevin Rudd -- just a taste of the power she could wield through total media control. This is a woman who wants to use nuclear bombs to blast even larger open-cut mines, supports WA seceding from Australia, and bankrolls climate change denial.

Rinehart now owns almost 15% of Fairfax, and past actions suggest her plan is to use this control to push her extreme views. She has already made her mark at Channel Ten -- with 10% ownership of the TV network, she’s quickly installed herself on the board and was reportedly behind the divisive Andrew Bolt being given his own show. As Murdoch’s only newspaper competition, loosing Fairfax to another extremist media mogul would be a huge blow to Australian democracy.

To stop media moguls and clean up our media, we desperately need stronger ownership limits, a 'fit and proper person' test for use of public airwaves, and a strong and independent media regulator. We’ve already succeeded in establishing the inquiry and pushing it to make strong recommendations -- but only our pressure can ensure the government listens to the people instead of the moguls. Let’s give Minister Conroy the support he needs to put a stop to damaging media moguls -- sign the petition now:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stop_ginas_mining_media/?vl

Avaaz members around the world have played a key role in reeling in Murdoch’s damaging media empire, stopping his massive BSkyB takeover bid in the UK and ending his attempted $223 million robbery of the Australia Network from the ABC. Now, we have the chance to institute protections to end media moguls for good.

With hope,

Emma, Ben, Paul, Dalia, Rich and the whole Avaaz team.

SOURCES

Gina Rinehart: The Iron Lady (Good Weekend):
http://www.smh.com.au/executive-style/management/the-iron-lady-20120116-...

Mining in a new vein (Sydney Morning Herald):
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/mining-in-a-new-vein-20120201-1qt...

Mines over media: Rinehart’s new influence (ABC):
http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/3805104.html

Gina Rinehart could set Fairfax agenda (Crikey):
http://www.crikey.com.au/2012/02/01/gina-rinehart-could-set-agenda-at-fa...

Video: Lord Monckton reveals plan to 'capture' Australian media:
http://www.desmogblog.com/monckton-pitches-fox-news-australia-idea-minin...

Monckton suggests miners start their own TV channel

Check out the video the mining industry never expected you to see:

http://www.getup.org.au/minersmediaplan

You simply have to see this video to believe it.

It reveals that Rinehart's move is bigger than one woman’s ambition – it’s part of a coordinated and very deliberate strategy, with climate skeptic ‘Lord’ Monkton seen here advising a room full of mining executives on how the industry must gain control of Australia’s media.

Can you help share this video so all Australians understand what's really going on in the mining industry?

http://www.getup.org.au/minersmediaplan

We've seen what happened in the USA when coordinated, super-wealthy corporate interests set about deliberately reshaping the media landscape to suit their agendas. It's bad news for democracy and it's bad news for the issues we care about. And while this most recent purchase was a brazen move, it's hardly the first time a mining industry executive has used their vast wealth to push an agenda.

Last year, Rinehart helped set up a new lobby group calling for a special ‘Northern Economic Zone’ demanding lower tax, government concessions and cheap migrant labor from Asia. She helped bankroll the campaign against Government efforts to ask the mining industry to pay their fair share of tax through the Mining Super Profits tax and she's been actively sponsoring prominent climate skeptics like Monckton, Ian Plimer and Andrew Bolt, who got his own TV show weeks after she invested in Channel Ten.

You won't want to miss seeing what's really going on. Watch a recording they didn't expect you to see, and share it far and wide.

Thanks for getting the word out,
the GetUp team

PS: Gina could really just be the tip of the iceberg. Thirty six hours ago fellow billionaire mining magnate and the Liberal Party’s biggest donor, Clive Palmer, flippantly said that he loved the idea of following Rinehart's lead, telling Lateline: “That looks attractive, Fairfax, doesn't it? Fairfax looks very exciting. You could have an east-west play with Fairfax. Gina should come from the west and buy 15 per cent and we could buy 30 per cent from the eastern side of Australia and really get the place humming again.”1 Get the real story and spread the word here: www.getup.org.au/minersmediaplan

1 ABC Lateline. Clive Palmer talks to Lateline, February 03, 2012 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-02/clive-palmer-talks-to-lateline/380...