The Federal Court has ruled that the ABC breached the Fair Work Act when it terminated casual broadcaster Antoinette Lattouf in December 2023, finding she was removed after an 'orchestrated campaign by pro-Israel lobbyists'. Justice Darryl Rangiah said senior managers were in a 'state of panic' and made the decision to appease lobbyists who complained about her political opinions.
Lattouf was taken off air three days into a five-day contract hosting Sydney Mornings after sharing an Instagram post from Human Rights Watch that described Israel's use of starvation as a 'weapon of war' in Gaza. The court found the termination was partly because she held a political opinion opposing the Israeli military campaign, but rejected her claim that it was due to her race or national extraction.
The ABC argued Lattouf was removed for not following a direction not to post about the war, but Justice Rangiah found she was only given advice that it would be best not to post anything controversial. The court ordered the ABC to pay Lattouf $70,000 in compensation for non-economic loss and set a date for a hearing on whether a pecuniary penalty should be imposed.
Outside court, Lattouf's lawyer Josh Bornstein said he would seek 'a significant penalty in order to deter the ABC from repeating its illegal conduct in the future'. Lattouf was seen crying and mouthing 'We won' to her husband after the verdict was delivered.
