The Australian has celebrated 50 years in print with a glowing endorsement from Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who said John Howard had the newspaper to thank for his elevation to the nation's top job.

But the current leader stopped short of crediting the News Corp publication or any of its state-based stable-mates with his own success as he championed the masthead's objectivity.

At a gala dinner in Sydney marking the half-century milestone, Mr Abbott - who once worked as a journalist at The Australian - said the contemporary publication is "one of the world's very best".

And he wanted to "kill the urban myth" that News Corp papers were ciphers for boss Rupert Murdoch.

"The Australian has borne his ideals but not his fingerprints: it has been his gift to our nation," Mr Abbott told an audience which included past and present politicians, sporting greats and business leaders.

"Long ago The Australian found its authentic voice and that has helped governments and people to find theirs."

Mr Abbott said the newspaper barracked for causes rather than political parties and promoted issues not individuals and told both sides of a story.

However it was The Australian in 1994 that cleared the way for Mr Howard to take the Coalition leadership and become prime minister "by putting on the front page his change of mind on Asian immigration".

Thirteen years later though, the paper was campaigning against Mr Howard, he added.

Mr Abbott acknowledged that The Australian had sought arguments for and against a number of issues, including the much-debated price on carbon.

"No think-tank, no institution, no university has so consistently and so successfully captured and refined the way we think about ourselves."

Murdoch returns the favour, praising Abbott Government

Mr Murdoch thanked the thousands of staff who have worked on The Australian since its inception in July 1964, and recalled with humour his battles with "flights, fog and finances" in the newspaper's early days.

But rather than dwell on the past, Mr Murdoch spoke about the future and his confidence that The Australian would reach 100 years.

Newspapers were not doomed, he said, adding they were "able to engage, to entertain, to educate, to provoke, to occasionally irritate, and I hope often, to enlighten".

Mr Murdoch also took the opportunity to praise Mr Abbott's approach to government.

"Government itself can be a threat. Thankfully, Prime Minister Abbott and his team are working to trim not dramatically the reach and the expense of government," he said.

He urged Australia to build stronger relations with its regional neighbours, strive toward higher-level education and not rely on "exporting chunks of our terrain".

ABC/AAP