A superannuation umbrella group demanded on Thursday the sweeping ouster of the incumbent News Corp board, charging that all six directors, including two sons of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, were guilty of gross oversight in relation to the UK phone hacking scandal that made headlines in July.

In a statement, the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) strongly urged for the sacking of News Corp board members James Murdoch, Lachlan Murdoch, Natalie Bancroft, David De Voe, Andrew Knight and Arthur Siskind.

"In our view, the whole Board is responsible for failures of oversight, however we regard it as impractical to recommend against the election of the whole Board," ACSI chief executive Ann Byrne was quoted as saying by Agence France Presse (AFP) in calling for the immediate standing down of the entire board.

"Responsibility for (phone hacking scandal), as well as setting the ethical tone throughout News Corporation and affiliated organisations rests with the News Corporation Board," Byrne added in her statement.

According to AFP, ACSI controls some $250 billion of pension funds in Australia, which in turn accounts for an estimated 28 percent of investment in the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) that market analysts said now carries a total value of $1.4 trillion.

News Corp, on the other hand, presently ranks as one of the top 50 firms listed on ASX.

The ACSI stand, according to Byrne, reflects the superannuation community's clear message that News Corp needs to ramp up its "standards of oversight and greater independence."

She added that ACSI is fully aware that the Murdoch media empire holds considerable sway on News Corp's board and there was "no prospect of any of the incumbent directors having a majority vote against their re-election."

However, Byrne is upbeat that "the upcoming annual meeting provides an opportunity for investors to convey their clear view on improving the composition of the News Corporation Board."

The phone hacking scandal has so far resulted in the shutting down of the Murdoch-owned tabloid News of the World in UK after more than a century of existence while the U.S.-based News Corp board was subsequently overhauled in August as a form of making amends for the alleged wrongdoings committed by journalists working for the company.

Yet the call for a total rehabilitation of the News Corp board, Byrne stressed, should ensure "that the company is run in the best interests of its shareholders."