By Monique Ross and staff
Photo: The front page of today's Daily Telegraph, owned by Rupert Murdoch, shows Kevin Rudd as Colonel Klink from Hogan's Heroes. (Daily Telegraph)
The Prime Minister has dragged Opposition Leader Tony Abbott into his row with Rupert Murdoch, saying he must come clean over any talks he has had with the media mogul over the future of the NBN.
Kevin Rudd has accused Mr Murdoch of using his newspaper empire to attack Labor because he sees the NBN as a threat to his Foxtel network.
Mr Murdoch has publicly questioned how the multi-billion-dollar policy would be paid for, and the News Corp-owned Daily Telegraph paper has taken an anti-Labor stance as politicians hit the campaign trail.
Speaking on the ABC's 7.30 program last night, Mr Rudd again questioned whether commercial interests are driving Mr Murdoch's opposition to the broadband project.
"He says through his own direct statements that he wants Mr Abbott to replace me as prime minister. That's fine. That's his democratic right. It's a free country," Mr Rudd said.
"But the question that I've posed though this is simply as follows: what is underneath all this?"
The Prime Minister went on to raise claims of a conspiracy involving his political rival.
Video: Watch Kevin Rudd's interview with 7.30 (7.30)
"I've only just been looking back on the files today and discovered that in fact Mr Abbott's NBN policy was launched at the Fox Studios here in Sydney," Mr Rudd said.
"I would like to hear some answers as to what discussions Mr Abbott may have had with Mr Murdoch on the future of Australia's National Broadband Network."
But deputy Opposition leader Julie Bishop says Mr Rudd has "lost the plot".
"I'm actually worried about Kevin Rudd's state of mind. He seems to be descending into some dark world of conspiracies where everybody's against him and it's led by Rupert Murdoch," she told Lateline.
"He's spent the last three years leaking against his colleagues, getting stories in News Corporation papers and now that the News Corporation editorial doesn't think that he's fit to be Prime Minister, a view that his colleagues share, all of a sudden it's a conspiracy.
"And then he's got this theory that somehow Malcolm Turnbull launching our broadband policy at Fox Studios was something sinister. I mean, seriously? It's a showcase for high technology. It would have looked good on TV. Why wouldn't you launch your broadband policy there?
"For Kevin to find something sinister in that, I think he's lost the plot."
Video: Julie Bishop talks to Lateline (Lateline)
Today - following controversy surrounding revelations Deputy Prime Minister Anthony Albanese shared a beer with controversial former Labor MP Craig Thomson - Sydney's Daily Telegraph is featuring "Thommo's Heroes".
It depicts Mr Rudd as Colonel Klink, Mr Albanese as Sergeant Schultz and Mr Thomson as Colonel Hogan - characters from cult TV show Hogan's Heroes.
"Albo's explanation for German beers with Thomson: I know nuthink!" the paper said.
The paper has previously called on voters to "kick this mob out" on September 7, and declared "it's a ruddy mess" following the release of Labor's economic statement.
'Their agenda is clear'
Mr Albanese says the Daily Telegraph's agenda is there for all Australians to see.
"I think people will look at the agenda they are running, and frankly be pretty offended that they are being told what to think and how to vote by a newspaper," he told ABC Local Radio in Newcastle this morning.
Opinion: Tele doesn't drive national debate
The Daily Telegraph's front page failed to recognise readers are active members of a thriving news ecosystem, writes Tim Dunlop.
"Australians know that elections are up to them to determine.
"With the Daily Telegraph, there will be a different headline and a different front page every day, but their agenda is clear."
News Corporation has previously denied its newspapers are influenced by Foxtel's interests.
"Any suggestion that the editorial position of our newspapers is based upon the commercial interests of Foxtel demonstrates a complete ignorance of both our business and of Foxtel," it said in a statement on Wednesday.
Meanwhile politicians across the country are gearing up for day four of the election campaign, which is expected to again be dominated by the economy.
Mr Abbott will spend a second day talking up his pledge to cut the company tax rate by 1.5 per cent, and the Government will throw doubt over the savings outlined to pay for it.
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