Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has attacked Prime Minister Julia Gillard's suggestions that the Murdoch-owned News Limited has "hard questions to answer" saying they are a "thinly veiled attempt to intimidate the press".

Yesterday, Ms Gillard demanded that News Limited answer questions about its conduct in Australia in the wake of the British phone-hacking scandal.

But Mr Abbott says Ms Gillard's comments have nothing to do with the News of the World phone-hacking scandal and are instead a bid by the Government to avoid scrutiny.

"Frankly it demeans our polity for this kind of thing to go on. Prime ministers of Australia should be better than that and I call on the Prime Minister to put up or shut up when it comes to those sorts of issues," he said.

Two Government ministers, Treasurer Wayne Swan and Communications Minister Stephen Conroy, have accused News Limited's Daily Telegraph of bias, saying it is following an anti-Labor agenda.

"Let’s not have more attempts by ministers to bluff media organisations out of proper reporting of the Government's carbon tax disaster," Mr Abbott told reporters in Melbourne this morning.

"We've been very well served by the media in Australia. Yes, politicians don't always like the coverage that they get, but if you are in public life you've got to take the rough with the smooth.

"A vigorous, critical media is an important part of a healthy democracy and I think the Prime Minister should accept that."

'People are disturbed'

Ms Gillard said yesterday that people are "disturbed" by what they have seen happen in the UK "with phone hacking and the like".

The scandal has lead to the closure of the 168-year-old News of the World Sunday paper, the first masthead Rupert Murdoch bought in Britain.

"I do believe Australians, watching all of that happening overseas with News Corp, are looking at News Limited here and wanting to see News Limited answer some hard questions," Ms Gillard said.

News Limited chief executive John Hartigan says News journalists in Australia do not use phone hacking and he is "hugely confident" there is no improper conduct in his newsrooms.

"I've worked in newspapers for 45 years, a lot of that as an editor. I know the newsrooms, I know how cultures develop, and I'm hugely confident that there is no improper or unethical behaviour in our newsrooms," he told the ABC's 7.30.

Today, Ms Gillard said that she "notes" Mr Hartigan has ordered a review into the conduct of News Limited newspapers in Australia.

"So the CEO of News Limited [is] asking some questions himself. It's not surprising Australians are asking themselves the question too, 'What does this mean for Australia?'," she said.

Greens leader Bob Brown, who has had some celebrated run-ins with News Limited journalists, has called for an inquiry into the ownership and ethics of the Australian media.

Senator Brown wants "fit and proper" character tests for newspaper proprietors and a review of ownership regulation in light of News Limited's domination of the capital city newspaper market.

Ms Gillard has said she is open to the suggestion of an inquiry.

Mr Abbott drew the distinction between the Government's new push for a tightening of privacy laws - which may lead to restrictions on what the media can publish - and the suggested media inquiry.

"I'm happy to look at proposals for greater privacy protection, but what I will never support is any attempt to try to bluff the media out of doing its job which is to hold bad governments to account."