Australia’s public broadcaster, ABC, unlawfully dismissed radio journalist Antoinette Lattouf over a social media post concerning the Israel-Gaza conflict, a court ruled on Wednesday.
The ABC has apologised and been ordered to pay Lattouf AU$70,000 (US$45,000) in compensation, with further financial penalties yet to be determined.
Federal Court Justice Darryl Rangiah stated in his ruling that ABC violated employment law by terminating Lattouf “for reasons including that she held political opinions opposing the Israeli military campaign in Gaza.”
Lattouf initiated legal action after her dismissal in December 2023, just three days into a five-day casual contract with the broadcaster.
The dismissal stemmed from Lattouf re-posting a Human Rights Watch video report on the Gaza conflict to Instagram, accompanied by her comment: “HRW reporting starvation as a tool of war.”
According to the judge, ABC’s senior management reacted to the post with “a state of panic,” leading to the decision to remove her from the air “within the hour.”
ABC managing director Hugh Marks issued an apology, acknowledging, “We regret how the decision to remove Ms. Lattouf from air was handled and the distress occasioned her.”
He added that “it’s clear the matter was not handled in line with our values and expectations” and that the broadcaster “also let down our staff and audiences, and this failure has caused understandable concern among the public and inside the organisation.”
