Casual ABC radio host Antoinette Lattouf will be paid $70,000 in damages by the national broadcaster for her unlawful dismissal after she was taken off air over a post on the conflict in Gaza.
Antoinette Lattouf was hired for a week-long stint on ABC Radio Sydney’s (2BL) Mornings program before Christmas 2023.
She was let go after sharing a Human Rights Watch post that said Israel was using starvation as a “weapon of war” in Gaza.
The 41-year-old took her unlawful termination case to the Federal Court and Justice Darryl Rangiah handed down his judgment in a courtroom full of her supporters about 11am (AEST) this morning.
The judge ordered ABC pay $70,000 in compensation to Lattouf.
A potential pecuniary penalty will be determined at a later court hearing.
He did not order any penalties against the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) as sought by the journalist.
During a hearing in February, she claimed she was fired from the job because of her race and political opinion after publicly commenting on the plight of Palestinians during the ongoing conflict with Israel.
Justice Rangiah heard Lattouf was let go 48 hours into a campaign by a pro-Israeli group which sent a barrage of complaints to ABC executives, including then-chair Ita Buttrose.
“The decision was made to appease the pro-Israel lobbyists who would inevitably escalate their complaints about the ABC employing a presenter they perceived to have anti-Semitic and anti-Israel opinions in such a public position,” Justice Rangiah said in his judgement.
The BBC has seen dozens of WhatsApp messages from two groups that show a concerted letter-writing campaign against Lattouf in the days before she was fired.
The ABC’s barrister, Ian Neil SC, argued that Lattouf had not been fired and was simply told she wouldn’t need to work the final two days of her contract, saying “we’re talking about two shifts, two programs”.
The public broadcaster was accused of taking a partisan view despite claiming to be an impartial news source.
However, the ABC denied this.
The broadcaster claimed it took Lattouf off the air because she failed to follow a direction not to post about Israel or the war in Gaza during her five-day shift.
She rejected this, saying her direct supervisor, Elizabeth Green, agreed she could post facts from reputable sources.
As well as Ms Buttrose, she also targeted the ABC’s former content chief Chris Oliver-Taylor and former managing director David Anderson as being responsible for the allegedly unlawful termination.
She blamed the broadcaster for making her sacking public after an article in The Australian was put out before she had returned home the day she was fired.
ABC executives blamed head of capital city networks Steve Ahern for putting the organisation in an “unacceptable position” by failing to assess Lattouf’s history before hiring her, the court previously was told.
Lattouf – who is of Lebanese heritage – has been a regular contributor in Australian media for years, but also made a name for herself as an activist on issues like racism, discrimination in media and mental health.
-With AAP and BBC.
The full judgment can be found here.
