Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan has played down calls for an inquiry into the Australian media in the wake of the British phone-hacking scandal.

The Greens have been calling for the inquiry in the aftermath of the News of the World scandal involving Rupert Murdoch's media empire, while Prime Minister Julia Gillard yesterday said she was open to the idea.

Mr Swan made the comments despite describing events unfolding in the United Kingdom concerning News Corporation as "totally unacceptable".

"I accept the statements from the chief executive of News Limited that they've not engaged in these practices and I note that they're having an investigation of what's gone on in terms of their organisation," he said.

"I think it's good to have a healthy debate about the quality of journalism, about ethics, and I'll leave it at that."

Attorney-General Robert McClelland says he is confident Australia's laws are strong enough already to prosecute any news organisation seeking to illegally tap into voicemail.

"The Telecommunications Interception Act outlaws interception unless specifically authorised. I think that legal regime is adequate," he said at a news conference.

Mr McClelland made the comments at a meeting with his counterparts from the US, UK, Canada and New Zealand in Sydney today.

He says it is an important aspect of democracy to have an independent and robust media.

"There'll be no suggestion of the Government regulating the media," he said.

Earlier Opposition Leader Tony Abbott also said he did not feel there was a need for a wide-ranging inquiry.

He said a politician complaining about the media was in the same position as "a footballer complaining about the umpire".

"I think the media do a pretty good job of holding us to account," he told Channel Nine.

"Sometimes the media go over the top, sometimes politicians go over the top, and there are mechanisms already in the system for holding people to account when they get it wrong.

"Rupert [Murdoch] runs a lot of newspapers, some very good newspapers, so do other people."

'Political agenda'

But Mr Swan says it is pretty clear that some media publications in Australia are strongly opposed to putting a price on carbon.

He says that is "their right", but they should not pretend that their coverage of the issue is fair and balanced.

"If they want to go out and oppose putting a price on carbon they can do that, but the fact is that those media outlets should not pretend that their coverage is balanced, it clearly is not," he said.

The Treasurer singled out Sydney's Daily Telegraph, a Murdoch-owned tabloid, as an "unbalanced" newspaper.

"The Daily Telegraph in Sydney is constantly opposing a price on carbon. It doesn't care how it does it," Mr Swan told reporters.

And Federal independent MP Rob Oakeshott has joined his voice to those expressing unease with the News Limited papers.

Mr Oakeshott says News Limited has revealed it is trying to control the agenda rather than reporting the news, after the publisher's CEO, John Hartigan, admitted it had been aggressive towards Mr Oakeshott and other independent MPs.

Mr Oakeshott says it is not scrutiny when it is targeted at individual politicians.

"They define it as scrutiny, I have no problems with scrutiny so long as it's fair and balanced across the 150 members of Parliament," he said.

"They are choosing favourites to either back in or to oppose and that is I think starting to reveal agendas that are beyond reporting on the news and more about trying to control the agenda."