Turnbull government minister Peter Dutton has launched a fresh assault on Fairfax Media, saying the public didn't miss the company's "left-leaning" journalists when they went on strike to protest looming job losses.
But Fairfax Media chief executive officer Greg Hywood quickly hit back, saying in a statement: "Once again Peter Dutton shows why no one rates him."
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Dutton sledges Fairfax
According to Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, "productivity went up" during last last week's strike action that saw hundreds of journalists walk out of newsrooms.
Appearing on Fairfax-owned Sydney radio station 2GB on Thursday, the Immigration Minister was asked by shock jock Ray Hadley whether he was concerned writers at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age appeared to be praising the Turnbull government's second budget.
Mr Dutton, a regular public critic of media organisations he feels are hostile, used the question to launch another attack on the media company.
"I thought the productivity of Fairfax went up last week with the strike. I don't think lives were affected one way or another," he said.
"I think people realise you can live without reading Fairfax newspapers. I think it's a better way to lead your life - that would be my advice."
Fairfax recently announced plans to cut 125 full-time equivalent staff as part of a $30 million savings drive. Many reporters walked off the job on May 3 and returned to work on May 10.
Mr Dutton said while there were "a couple of good journos" at the company, he believed most were "out of touch" and intent on pushing a "political and ideological argument".
![Striking Fairfax journalists outside Parliament House in Canberra earlier this week.](/web/20170513011121im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/w/0/9/n/i/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gw2aoe.png/1494559385525.jpg)
"When they [the journalist] say 'the Prime Minister has been captured by the right' or 'has been playing to the conservative base of the party' that's code for this: they're saying Malcolm Turnbull hasn't undone the boats policy, he hasn't allowed the detention centres to close on Manus and Nauru.
"That's the one thing that they're obsessed about.
"They believe that already we should've had gay marriage or we should've had a republic, they can't believe that somebody like Turnbull is being captured into thinking you continue Operation Sovereign Borders."
![Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Immigration minister Peter Dutton.](/web/20170513011121im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/v/p/8/2/p/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gw2aoe.png/1494501002707.jpg)
Mr Hadley said he shared Mr Dutton's "disdain" for Fairfax reporters.
Mr Dutton has previously accused Fairfax of waging a "jihad" against the Coalition government.
Mr Dutton's Cabinet colleague Matt Canavan took a more moderate approach, saying Australia needed to have multiple media sources.
"I think we are lucky in this country to have a great diversity of media, from the ABC through to Fairfax, the Australian, the Courier Mail, the TVs - I think it would be a sad day if any of those organisations couldn't continue," he said.
The union representing the striking journalists, the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, declined to comment.
Federal Labor and crossbench MPs and a number of state-based conservative politicians - including NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Victorian Liberal leader Matthew Guy - expressed support for Fairfax reporters over the job losses.