Judgment in Antoinette Lattouf’s unlawful termination case against the ABC to be delivered
The Federal Court will decide on Antoinette Lattouf on an ABC high -profile illegal termination case.
Justice Darryl Rangah is expected to decide this morning after the two -week hearing in February.
In December 2023, the case appeared in ABC Radio Sydney server after a five -day daily mission for three days.
Ms. Lattouf said that the executives violated the social media policy of the organization after sharing a task by the Human Rights Monitoring Organization with the title of “HRW as a Hunger as a means of war” about the war in Gaza.
His lawyers argued that the external pressure and complaints of pro -Israeli lobbyists, as well as his political opinion and/or race, played a role in the decision.
ABC rejected that Ms. Lattouf’s employment was illegally terminated and that her attempts to solve the issue at the Fair Labor Commission failed last year.
Lattouf claims that complaints lead to termination
During his testimony, Lattouf said that ABC had given a suggestion for “a low profile holding” on social media after “full of complaints from pro -Israeli lobbyists.
ABC Radio Sydney Content Director Elizabeth Green said that the couple decided to publish information from a “respected organization” or a “confirmed resource”.
Private messages between senior ABC executives tend to the court, Ms. Lattouf’s lawyer “pro -Israel” groups argued that they put pressure on the management with coordinated complaints.
Former ABC President Ita Buttrose gave evidence in the case. (AAP: Dean Lewins)
In the courts given to the court, former ABC President Ita Buttrose then received complaints about Mrs. Lattouf, General Manager of ABC.
“I have more complaints more. Can’t come with flu or covid or stomach upset? We don’t owe him nothing,” Mrs. Buttrose wrote before the removal of Mrs. Lattouf.
The court also heard that Ms. Butrose had sent an additional personal e -mails to the complaints on the day Lattouf was rejected, and informed them directly about the decision.
He ignored the Lattouf instruction, ABC says
ABC Senior Advisor Ian Neil SC, Ms. Lattouf’s “political opinion expressions”, not because of the insurgency, argued that the air was taken from the air.
The quality of the alleged instruction was objected by some ABC witnesses who provided various opinions about whether it was said whether it was said not to publish anything completely about the war in Gaza and whether it was a direction.
During the evidence, Chris Oliver-Taylor, former ABC head content manager, admitted that Mrs. Lattouf was “pressure from above” instead of Mrs. Lattouf, although she had no reason to remove it at that time.
Chris Oliver Taylor (left) and David Anderson (right) were asked that their roles were removed from the air. (ABC: Jamie McKinnell / AAP: Bianca de Marchi)
Mr. Anderson also acknowledged that the court was “missing” in the process of lifting Mrs. Lattouf in court and admitted that it was “atypical” according to the publisher’s standards.
“A discussion with Mrs. Lattouf and to make sure that they are looking for the right advice from people and culture.” He said.
The court heard that there was no communication with the ABC’s legal team to check whether MS Lattouf had violated ABC editorial policies or contract.
Change in ABC
Initially, ABC argued that Mrs. Lattouf’s claim to be racial discrimination should fail because she did not prove that it was “Lebanon, Arab or Middle East race”.
After withdrawing internal and external criticism, ABC then made a modified presentation that attracted the argument back.
Mrs. Buttrose left the organization at the end of the five-year period at the beginning of 2024, while Mr. Anderson and Mr. Oliver-Taylor left for non-reasons for the case.
Former ABC Radio Sydney Station Manager Steve Ahern, responsible for hiring Mrs. Lattouf, resigned last year.
