Antoinette Lattouf ‘s lawyers highlight ABC ‘activist’ claim in final submissions
Lawyers for journalist Antoinette Lattouf have argued that claims she was an “activist” are an admission that she was dismissed by the ABC for her opinions.
Her legal team delivered their closing submissions in the unlawful termination case against the national broadcaster on Thursday.
As it happened: Closing submissions heard in Antoinette Lattouf case
Ms Lattouf was taken off air part way through a five-day casual stint as a presenter for ABC Radio Sydney in December 2023, after sharing a post by Human Rights Watch about the war in Gaza with the caption “HRW reporting starvation as a tool of war”.
Her lawyers argue her political opinion and/or race, as well as external pressure from pro-Israel lobbyists, played a role in the decision — which the ABC denies.
During evidence in court, former ABC chair Ita Buttrose labelled Ms Lattouf as “controversial” and an “activist” in relation to the war in Gaza.
Ms Lattouf’s barrister, Oshie Fagir, on Thursday said the label itself was an admission.
“Ms Lattouf holds opinions critical of the conduct of the State of Israel and sympathetic to the human rights of the Palestinian people,” Mr Fagir said.
“The fact that Ms Lattouf’s opinions are labelled as controversial or contentious [by the ABC] and that she is labelled an advocate, or an activist itself is an indication of the a prior hostility to the opinions to which she holds.“
Ms Lattouf arrived at court for closing arguments. (ABC News: Jak Rowland)
Mr Fagir told the court that Ms Lattouf was also treated differently from other ABC journalists who expressed their views on certain topics and on social media, including high-profile journalists Patricia Karvelas and Laura Tingle.
During evidence earlier this month, Ms Lattouf’s former manager, Elizabeth Green, agreed the pair decided it would be OK to post information from “a reputable organisation” or a “verified source”.
Ms Lattouf recalled being given a suggestion rather than a direction to “keep a low profile” on social media by Ms Green after the ABC was “flooded with complaints from pro-Israel lobbyists”.
Mr Fagir today told the court that if Ms Green’s evidence is accepted by Justice Darryl Rangiah it is “game over for the ABC”.
Mr Fagir told the court that if evidence from Elizabeth Green is accepted it is “game over for the ABC”. (AAP: Dan Himbrechts)
ABC reasons for dismissal ‘clearly spurious’
During his cross-examination earlier this month, outgoing ABC chief content officer Chris Oliver-Taylor said that Ms Buttrose was writing directly to him about Ms Lattouf’s employment.
Mr Fagir said the pressure on Mr Oliver-Taylor by Ms Buttrose and outgoing ABC managing director David Anderson ultimately led to the termination of Ms Lattouf.
“We say that influence was exercised through the pressure which [Ms Buttrose] brought to bear firstly on Mr Anderson and then on Mr Oliver-Taylor,” Mr Fagir said.
“[Mr Anderson’s] view that Ms Lattouf should never have been hired, and his deep unhappiness about the position he thought the ABC was in, were all influential and were all aspects of the influence, the pressure that was brought to bear on Mr Oliver-Taylor and which were relevant to his ultimate decision”.
Mr Fagir alleged Ms Lattouf was contracted to host a “light, bright mornings radio program” before she became the subject of a campaign by pro-Israel lobbyists to remove her and was taken off air 48 hours later.
He argued the ABC’s reasons to remove her were “clearly spurious”.
“There is for a time, a decision not to remove her — not because her work has been exemplary, not because she has done nothing wrong, not because she has not breached any policy, but because the blowback will be phenomenal,” Mr Fagir told the court.
Mr Fagir said the pressure former ABC chair Ita Buttrose “brought to bear firstly on Mr Anderson and then on Mr Oliver-Taylor” led to Ms Lattouf’s termination. (AAP: Dean Lewins)
Lawyers argue race a reason for dismissal
Ms Lattouf’s lawyers have reiterated that one of the reasons she was taken off air was not only because “she held and manifested particular views, but that she did so in the circumstances where she was herself of Lebanese heritage”.
“That’s a matter of which ABC managers were perfectly aware. That’s a matter which they regarded as relevant, for reasons that have never been explained.“
Mr Fagir said this was a “remarkable case” in relation to political opinion due to the “weight of material recording the hostility”.
He said while the material was not as clear in relation to race, the ABC bears the onus to prove it was not a factor and “explain this utterly abnormal exercise and the reasons for it”.
“And exclude, as a reason, the fact that Ms Lattouf is not only someone critical of Israel and sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinian people, but that she was a Lebanese woman who held and manifested those views,” he said.
The ABC will deliver its closing arguments on Friday before Ms Lattouf’s legal team gives a reply.
