Peter Dutton accuses Fairfax of conspiring against the government

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has accused Fairfax Media of being involved in a political game against the government. He lashed out at the media company for publishing stories on certain divisions in senior ranks and said that he has suspicions on which ministers are leaking the information.

Dutton told the media that he believed there is a huge conspiracy by the Fairfax to bring the government down. "I think regardless of what Tony Abbott does, Fairfax will say it's bad," he told the ABC's AM program. He also accused that some journalists are going beyond their duties and that the Fairfax has been receiving help from the ABC.

"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," Dutton said on Sky Television.

It is not the first time that media houses are being accused of going against the government by ministers and politicians. Stephen Conroy, who was Communication Minister under the Gillard government, accused the Murdoch-owned News Limited of trying to bring about a “regime change.”

Fairfax has, in recent times, leaked a number stories on Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s cabinet, which have proven to be damaging for the reputation of the government.

Dutton said the ministers who are behind the leaking should be sacked, when he was asked about it. Even though he said he has a “fair idea” of who they could be, he refused to name them. Mr Abbott has also warned his ministers that such breach of code within the government would not be tolerated.

Dutton said that if the party is not unified then it would only mean to bestow the power in hands of the Opposition, clearing the path for Bill Shorten.

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