Antoinette Lattouf: ABC to make final stand against pro-Palestine presenter
An ABC with its reputation under fire is set to make one last defence to a decision telling a casual radio host sympathetic to the Palestinian people not to return to work.
Antoinette Lattouf was let go after three days of a week-long fill-in stint on ABC Radio Sydney’s Mornings program when she shared a Human Rights Watch post that said Israel used starvation as a “weapon of war” in Gaza.
She went after the ABC in the Fair Work Commission and escalated the case to the Federal Court, where she has sued for penalties and damages.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.The journalist claims she was unlawfully dismissed because of her political opinion and race.
On Thursday, Lattouf’s barrister Oshie Fagir made closing submissions arguing that the public broadcaster’s executive, including outgoing managing director David Anderson, wanted her gone after a barrage of complaints from pro-Israel lobbyists.
The then-chief content officer Chris Oliver-Taylor used the pretext that Lattouf had breached a supposed order not to post anything regarding the Israeli conflict in Gaza to let her go, but was acting under pressure from higher up in the organisation, Mr Fagir said.
On Friday, the ABC’s barrister Ian Neil SC will begin his submissions about why the broadcaster’s actions were lawful and why Lattouf is not entitled to any compensation.
The organisation has argued that the casual fill-in host was not actually terminated, despite findings from the Fair Work Commission to the contrary.
Executives from the broadcaster recently revealed it had spent $1.1 million in taxpayer funds defending the case to date after its failed attempts to reach a settlement.
