Australian journalist wins case over online Gaza post

A journalist has won her case against Australia’s national broadcaster, with a court ruling she was unfairly sacked over a social media post about the war in Gaza.

Antoinette Lattouf said the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) fired her without “proper basis” or “due process” when her five-day contract as a fill-in radio presenter was cut short in December 2023.

Hours before she was sacked, Lattouf shared a post from Human Rights Watch (HRW) that was critical of Israel, a move that the ABC said breached its editorial policy.

Lattouf sued for wrongful dismissal, claiming she had been fired due to her political views, her race and after lobbying from pro-Israel groups.

Her dismissal triggered a wave of public outrage and created turmoil at the public broadcaster – raising questions over its independence and reviving concerns over how it supports staff, particularly those who are culturally diverse.

On Wednesday, Justice Darryl Rangiah ruled that the ABC did sack Ms Lattouf, for reasons including her opinions on the Israeli military campaign in Gaza. He rejected the allegation she was fired because of her race.

He awarded Ms Lattouf damages of A$70,000 (£33,400, $45,400).

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.

Before she had started her week-long stint as a presenter for the ABC’s Mornings radio programme in Sydney, the broadcaster had asked Lattouf to limit her social media use and she agreed.

But she claimed her manager also said she could share information from “reputable” sources so on the second day of her contract, she re-shared HRW’s Instagram post that accused Israel of using starvation as a tool in its war in Gaza – something the ABC itself had reported on. Israel denies the accusation.

Shortly after coming off air the next day, Lattouf was told to pack up her things and leave, with the decision to remove her from the airwaves promptly leaked to the media. This left her reputation in tatters, Lattouf says.

The ABC initially disputed that she was fired, because they had paid her contract in full, but Australia’s Fair Work Commission last year ruled against them, paving the way for Lattouf to take her case to the Federal Court.

There, Lattouf’s team argued the ABC had been influenced by external pressure about her appointment as a temporary radio presenter, even before she had started the short contract.

Elizabeth Green, Lattouf’s manager, told the court that there had already been pressure from “higher up” to sack Lattouf before the HRW post was shared.

The court heard that ABC’s former chair Ita Buttrose had forwarded several emails complaining about Lattouf to senior managers.

The BBC has also 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”.

Neil also maintained that cutting short the contract was not about sanctioning Lattouf, but rather to protect the reputation of the broadcaster.

“Taking someone off air is designed to protect the ABC, not to punish the employee,” Neil said in closing arguments.