ABC asked to pay £73,000 to journalist fired over Gaza post

Australia’s national broadcaster has been directed to pay A$150,000 (£73,435) in compensation to presenter Antoninette Lattouf, after a court ruled that she was unfairly dismissed over a social media post about Gaza.

According to a legal suit filed earlier this year in the Australian Federal Court, radio personality Antoninette Lattouf was wrongfully fired from the air by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in December 2023 due to her political opinions in pro-Israel movements.

On Wednesday, Justice Darryl Rangiah issued the decision, stating that the national broadcaster "surrendered" Lattouf's rights for the benefit of a lobby organisation.

The court held that the ABC had breached both the Fair Work Act and its own enterprise agreement. Lattouf, a long-time journalist and campaigner on issues such as racism, discrimination in the media and mental health, had been hired on a temporary week-long contract but was dismissed mid-assignment after she reposted content alleging Israel was using starvation as a weapon in Gaza.

The post in question was not Lattouf’s own comment but a share from Human Rights Watch, which accused Israel of using starvation as a weapon of war. The International Criminal Court has since stated that there are “reasonable grounds” to believe Israel employed starvation against millions in Gaza as a wartime tactic — a charge Israel has rejected.

During the trial, the ABC argued that Lattouf had breached its editorial standards by ignoring instructions not to post about the conflict. The Federal Court, however, determined that no such direction had ever been issued to her regarding social media activity, the Independent reported.

Justice Rangiah observed that while Lattouf’s Instagram story could be considered “ill-advised,” her dismissal was based only on a suspicion that she “may” have broken a rule, without being given a chance to explain or defend her actions.

In its reporting on the judgment, the ABC noted that the court had earlier found Lattouf was only given “advice” that it would be preferable not to post anything controversial about Gaza, rather than a direct instruction to avoid doing so. How the details of her dismissal were circulated in the media remains unclear.

Justice Rangiah, while delivering Wednesday’s ruling, said there had been a coordinated campaign by pro-Israel lobbyists to push for Lattouf’s removal from the outset of her role, and that ABC management had yielded to that pressure. He added that the broadcaster had “let down the Australian public badly” by surrendering its employees’ rights to placate a lobby group.

Lattouf had previously been granted A$70,000 in damages for hurt and distress, but the court concluded that a “substantial” additional award was required to send a stronger message. The ABC has been ordered to pay her a further A$150,000 within 28 days.

The judge observed that the ABC’s main reason for ending Antoninette Lattouf’s employment was to shield itself from backlash from lobby groups, the media, and parts of the public. Justice Rangiah stressed that neither the broadcaster nor others should view financial penalties as a tolerable trade-off for avoiding criticism.

The court also criticised the ABC for not investigating how news of Lattouf’s dismissal had been leaked, saying this undermined the sincerity of both its apology and contrition. It further noted that the incident had carried severe consequences for the journalist’s career and reputation.

Following the ruling, ABC managing director Hugh Marks reiterated an apology, acknowledging that the matter was mishandled and fell short of the broadcaster’s own values. He said both Lattouf and the public had been let down, adding that the organisation had reflected on the judgment and accepted the need to improve.