Pressure from Ita Buttrose to punt presenter Antoinette Lattouf from ABC

Former ABC chair Ita Buttrose put the organisation’s head of content between “a rock and a hard place” in pushing for the removal of casual presenter Antoinette Lattouf, the Federal Court has heard.

Former ABC chair Ita Buttrose put the organisation’s head of content between “a rock and a hard place” in pushing for the removal of casual presenter Antoinette Lattouf, the Federal Court heard yesterday.

ABC head of content Chris Oliver-Taylor appeared at Ms Lattouf’s unfair dismissal hearing in the Federal Court on Friday to tell how “concerns were rising” at her appearance on Sydney radio.

The court has heard how ABC chiefs were bombarded with complaints about Ms Lattouf’s appointment, replacing host Sarah Macdonald, in an orchestrated pro-Israel campaign sparked by her posts on the Gaza conflict.

“Complaints were coming into me directly from the chair’s office,” Mr Oliver-Taylor said.

He said there was “pressure coming from above” and that he had been put between “a rock and a hard place” because the proper due diligence into her views had not been performed before she was hired for the casual shifts.

Antoinette Lattouf arriving at Federal Court. The court has heard how ABC chiefs were bombarded with complaints about Ms Lattouf’s appointmen. Picture: NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

“I felt there was more I wasn’t aware of, more evidence was coming in, more concerns … How long was it reasonable for the ABC to … have a presenter live on air holding views which are potentially (not) impartial? How long could we hold that position?” he said.

In one email Ms Buttrose, then ABC chair, wrote: “Why can’t she come down with flu or Covid or a stomach upset? We owe her nothing. We’re copping criticism because she wasn’t honest when she was appointed.”

Mr Oliver-Taylor said he “didn’t like the chair’s comments” but wrote back to ­apologise.

“We have been left in an untenable position on how to resolve and are working to find the best solution to this predicament,” he wrote.

Mr Oliver-Taylor said he believed Ms Lattouf “would have made an excellent presenter for the ABC in other times.”

However her appearance on air just six weeks after the horrors of October 7 meant he was concerned news would break that would require Ms Lattouf to comment.

He said the issue for him was not what was posted, but her presence on air was an issue “because Ms Lattouf was hosting a live radio show with talkback callers where the news top and tail, every half an hour, would cover the war.”

ABC managing director David Anderson has said he believed Ms Lattouf should never have been hired because of her “partisan” view on Israel and Gaza.

The ABC said Ms Lattouf was asked not to post while she was on air for the week. A position she “challenged” and understood meant she could post from reputable sources.

Ms Lattouf was sacked on Mr Oliver-Taylor’s orders with two days to go on her five day contract after she posted on a Human Rights Watch report on Israel using “starvation as a tool of war”.

Ms Buttrose is expected to appear at the court on Tuesday.

Originally published as Pressure from Ita Buttrose to punt presenter Antoinette Lattouf from ABC