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The ABC has withdrawn its defence that former employee Antoinette Lattouf’s racial discrimination case should fail because she had not proved that there was a Lebanese, Middle-Eastern or Arab race or national extraction.
from the public broadcaster’s board and an inquiry into its editorial independence, following the ABC’s legal argument questioning the existence of a Lebanese race.
The ABC’s now-withdrawn part of the application stated: “Whether there is a Lebanese, Arab, or Middle Eastern ‘race’ is a complex multi-faceted question of fact. The facts must be proved.”
The ABC’s barrister Ian Neil SC told the court on Tuesday “The ABC does not put in issue, that is, it does not dispute or contest that the Lebanese, Middle Eastern or Arab races exist, or that Ms Lattouf is one or more of those races.
“And the ABC does not put in issue, that is, does not dispute or contest that there is a Lebanese, Middle Eastern or Arab national extraction or that Ms Lattouf has one or more of those national extractions.”
As her unlawful dismissal hearing continued in the Federal Court in Sydney on Tuesday, the court was told a former ABC radio manager was not surprised that his decision to hire Lattouf, a fill-in host who was critical of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, was labelled “ill informed” by a senior executive.
Lattouf was recruited to host the Mornings show on ABC Radio Sydney for five days in December 2023.
However, she was let go following three days on air after sharing an Instagram post by Human Rights Watch saying Israel used starvation as a “weapon of war” in Gaza.
Ex-ABC head of capital city networks Steve Ahern was asked whether he was surprised by his superior’s comments that his decision to hire Lattouf was “ill-informed”.
“I wasn’t surprised,” he told Lattouf’s barrister Philip Boncardo.
“I was disappointed by the characterisation of me making an ill-informed decision, but that’s the way these things go.”
He denied feeling pressure from the criticism, made by then content chief Chris Oliver-Taylor, or that he considered disciplinary action could have been taken against him as a result.
Lattouf alleges she was fired because of her political opinion and race after the ABC bowed to pressure from pro-Israeli lobbyists who co-ordinated a campaign of complaints against her.
She is seeking compensation and penalties against the broadcaster.
While the ABC contends Lattouf was ordered not to post about the Israel-Gaza conflict during her time there, she claims she was given no such direction.
Lattouf said ABC Radio Sydney content director Elizabeth Green merely offered a suggestion to keep a low profile online but eventually agreed she could post facts from reputable sources.
In court, Ahern admitted he never specifically told Green to direct Lattouf to avoid posting anything relating to Gaza on her social media accounts.
However, he said his colleague had given “clear guidance” to the freelance journalist about her obligations to remain impartial and be careful in her social media activity.
Information accidentally disclosed
The public broadcaster also made a formal apology after confidential information relating to those who complained about Lattouf’s views on the war in Gaza was accidentally disclosed to the public.
The details, which were suppressed by the Federal Court for the individuals’ safety, were revealed on Monday in an affidavit by Oliver-Taylor which attached complaints about Lattouf’s previous social media and public statements.
They labelled her as antisemitic and said hiring her would turn the broadcaster into a mouthpiece for Hamas.
Lattouf said in her court filings that she opposed the Israeli military campaign in Gaza and supported the human rights of Palestinians.
Justice Darryl Rangiah expressed his displeasure that the details of some complainants had been made publicly viewable in the affidavit.
“I am deeply unhappy about the error made by the ABC’s legal representatives,” the judge said.
Neil apologised on behalf of the organisation, saying the mistake was a result of human error.
Lawyers swiftly contacted the court once they realised the confidential information was publicly available on the Federal Court’s website, he said.
“As leading counsel responsible for the presentation of the respondent’s case, I stand before you this morning to tender my personal apology for what has happened,” Neil said.
