By Steve Zemek
Copyright news
Ms Lattouf earlier this year won her high-profile Federal Court lawsuit against the ABC after Justice Darryl Rangiah found the national broadcaster had breached the Fair Work Act when she was told she was not required for the last two days of a five-day casual engagement.
Ms Lattouf sued the ABC after she was sent home midway through a stint on ABC Radio’s Sydney Mornings program in the lead-up to Christmas in 2023.
Ms Lattouf was dismissed after sharing a post on social media by Human Rights Watch reading: “HRW reporting starvation as a tool of war. The Israeli government is using starvation of civilians as a weapon of war in Gaza”.
In the Federal Court on Wednesday, Justice Rangiah ordered the ABC pay a penalty of $150,000 to Ms Lattouf for four contraventions of the act.
The ABC was facing a maximum fine of $375,000, Justice Rangiah said.
The taxpayers’ bill for the case, not including the fine, is in the millions.
Ms Lattouf’s solicitor Josh Bornstein previously said that they offered to settle the case for $85,000.
In February, ABC acting managing director Melanie Kleyn told a Senate estimates hearing that the national broadcaster had burned through $1.1m defending the case, but that was only part way through the trial.
In a social media post on Wednesday Ms Lattouf said that: “to date ABC has spent well over $2m of taxpayer money fighting me.”
Following its loss, the ABC was ordered to pay Ms Lattouf $70,000 in compensation.
The court was told on Wednesday that Ms Lattouf may also apply for the broadcaster to pay her legal bills.
She was sacked after sharing the post and following a flurry of emails from pro-Israel supporters to ABC management, the court has heard.
Ms Lattouf had asked for the ABC to be penalised between $300,000 to $350,000, while the ABC had said a penalty of between $37,000 and $56,000 was appropriate.
On Tuesday night, Ms Lattouf posted on social media, saying her fight against the ABC was “never about money”.
“(Justice) Rangiah has already ruled my sacking was to appease pro-Israel lobbyists and to ‘beat’ a hit piece in The Australian because of my political beliefs,” she said in the post on Instagram.
Justice Rangiah said on Wednesday that the ABC’s position was difficult as it was “caught between” a campaign by pro-Israel lobbyists, its “statutory obligation of impartiality” and Ms Lattouf pouring “fuel on the fire” by making a post “that was obviously going to be controversial”.
“The ABC’s response was to surrender to the lobbyists’ political campaign by sacrificing Ms Lattouf,” Justice Rangiah said.
He said the ABC did so for “spurious reasons” and without giving Ms Lattouf a right of reply.
“The ABC’s conduct in surrendering to the demands of the pro-Israel lobbyists and taking Ms Lattouf off air ignored the equally important statutory obligation of maintaining its independence and integrity,” Justice Rangiah said.
“The ABC let down the Australian public badly when it abjectly surrendered the rights of its employee Ms Lattouf to appease a lobby group.”
The decision to sack Ms Lattouf was made by head of content Chris Oliver-Taylor following a Teams Meeting involving members of ABC management on Wednesday, December 20.
The court was told made the decision to axe Ms Lattouf came after the ABC received a host of complaints about her pro-Palestinian politics over the preceding days.
During the trial, the court heard that former ABC chair Ita Buttrose fired off an email to then-managing editor David Anderson on Tuesday, December 19.
“Has Antoinette been replaced. I am over getting emails about her,” Ms Buttrose said in the email.
During her evidence, Ms Buttrose denied that this was proof that she wanted Ms Lattouf fired.
The court heard that Mr Anderson replied: “Antoinette will finish up on Friday. It’s a managed exit given the situation.”
Ms Buttrose followed it up with another email at 9.59pm: “I have a whole clutch more of complaints. Why can’t she come down with flu? Or Covid. Or a stomach upset? We owe her nothing, we are copping criticism because she wasn’t honest when she was appointed.”
Much of the case centred on what Ms Lattouf was told in a telephone conversation with her boss, then ABC Radio Sydney content director Elizabeth Green, on the afternoon of Monday December 18 – the day of the first of her five shifts.
Ms Green told the court that she told Ms Lattouf: “So it would be best if you don’t post anything related to the Israel/Palestine situation on social media while you’re with us.”
While Ms Lattouf told the court that she was told by Ms Green: “It’s probably best that you keep a low profile on Twitter and maybe don’t tweet anything.”
In his judgment on Wednesday, Justice Rangiah said he rejected Mr Oliver-Taylor’s evidence regarding his reasons for taking Ms Lattouf off air, saying he did not accept that he believed Ms Lattouf had been given a “direction not to post anything”
He also said that Ms Buttrose and Mr Anderson – prior to Ms Lattouf being sacked – had accepted she would complete her engagement.
“I do not think that Ms Buttrose and Mr Anderson can ultimately be held responsible for the decision to terminate Ms Lattouf’s employment,” he said.
Justice Rangiah said the ABC’s “capitulation” to political pressure meant it should be hit with a “a penalty of sufficient weight” to deter it from similar breaches in the future.
The ABC has argued that its decision to sack Ms Lattouf was a “one off” and the result of a “perfect storm”.
ABC barrister Ian Neil SC argued that the decision to sack Ms Lattouf was the result of “extenuating circumstances” and a “modest” penalty was appropriate.
