The News Corporation chairman told the B20 summit that business has to be involved in shaping the public policy debate and encourge the public to "provide business with the opportunities to get on with life and get the governments to take a backseat".
Addressing around 400 business leaders, Mr Murdoch said business does have a role in shaping public policy, but mainly in helping limit the size and scope of government.
“I have some fairly strong libertarian leanings, which means my blood pressure goes up when I think of the number of local, state and referral regulations we have in our lives today,” he said.
“… For businesses large and small, there is simply too much red tape and too many self-serving politicians.”
Mr Murdoch also defended business’s right to engage in public debate, citing his media outlets as one way of doing so.
“We’re far from regularly win the argument, but it’s very important,” he said.
“If we live in a democracy with real entrepreneurship, you’ve got to have a world of ideas and debate. And that means business is just as entitled to express its opinions as unions are.”
Appearing in a panel alongside Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden and Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs president Alexander Shokhin, Mr Murdoch used the example of internet piracy to highlight the importance of transparency when dealing with government bodies.
“We’re fighting the issue of piracy,” he said.
“Since its goes over the international airwaves, it’s something we have to talk to government about. But you do it completely publicly. You don’t ask for any favours in return.”
Prime Minister Tony Abbott had addressed the summit earlier, on their second day of gathering to provide a list of recommendations to the G20 group of government leaders.
The summit is discussing infrastructure, financing growth, human capital and trade, with a specific focus on creating employment.
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