By Caitlin Fitzsimmons
ABC managing director David Anderson raised concerns about broadcaster Antoinette Lattouf being on air on the first day of her intended week-long stint before she shared a social media post about Gaza, the Fair Work Commission in Sydney has heard.
Lattouf has launched legal action against the national broadcaster after she was dismissed over the Human Rights Watch Instagram post. She alleges that the ABC unlawfully terminated her for sharing political opinions and that race was also a factor.
Antoinette Lattouf (centre) arrives at the Fair Work Commission for her hearing against the ABC. Credit: Kate Geraghty
She was engaged as a casual presenter to fill in for Sarah Macdonald on ABC Radio Sydney from Monday, December 18, to Friday, December 22, last year, but was asked not to return after three morning stints.
The ABC says Lattouf was paid for all five days but not required to complete her final two shifts because she failed to heed a directive from management to avoid posting on her social media about topics considered “controversial”.
ABC managing director David Anderson.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
On Tuesday, December 19, she shared the Instagram post from Human Rights Watch about Israel’s actions in Gaza and the humanitarian plight in the Palestinian territory.
Under cross-examination from Lattouf’s lawyer, Mark Gibian, SC, on Friday, ABC Radio Sydney’s content director, Elizabeth Green, said she was asked by station manager Steve Ahern to speak to Lattouf about social media and “what she says about Gaza”.
Green told the commission she subsequently had conversations with Lattouf on Monday and Tuesday, but said she did not give a directive for her not to post on social media.
Instead, she told Lattouf she should keep a low profile and not post anything controversial. She told the journalist there had been complaints, adding: “I imagine they’re from lobbyists.”
Green said she also told Lattouf it was OK to post from reputable sources.
Earlier, the ABC’s chief content officer, Christopher Oliver-Taylor, told the commission that he did not know Lattouf was on air until he received an email from Anderson on Monday informing him there had been complaints about the broadcaster. Oliver-Taylor promised to look into it and then spoke to the head of audio, Ben Latimer, who confirmed Lattouf’s casual employment.
Oliver-Taylor said he believed he had told Latimer to instruct Lattouf not to post on social media.
“Complaints were coming in, there were concerns, Ms Lattouf had to host a live radio show, and we were concerned about how to manage that for her,” Oliver-Taylor said.
He said other measures to protect Lattouf included more rigorous screening of talkback callers and more judicious use of the “dump button” to get rid of rogue callers.
On the morning of Wednesday, December 20, there was an all-staff meeting for ABC Radio Sydney in which acting station manager Ronald Spurway said Lattouf was “sounding great on air”. Ahern, who is the permanent station manager but was acting in a different position, gave evidence that he agreed with that statement in the meeting.
But behind the scenes, concerns were being raised about Lattouf sharing the Human Rights Watch post. Green became aware of this when Latimer included her on a Microsoft Teams call at about noon that Wednesday, along with Ahern and others.
The final decision rested with Oliver-Taylor who said he consulted with Latimer and Ahern, though Ahern does not recollect this.
Both Ahern and Green were in a planning meeting later on the Wednesday when Ahern received a call from Latimer with the final decision. Ahern relayed it to those in the room, before calling in Lattouf to inform her.
Green’s evidence is that she expressed disagreement, adding words to the effect of: “For the sake of two days, it would be better to keep her on air, and I don’t see a problem with the Human Rights Watch post.”
She told the commission that Human Rights Watch was considered “a respectable organisation and one that would be used by journalists” and she had seen the BBC report on its claims.
Green agreed she had a further discussion as Lattouf was leaving the building, during which Lattouf was crying. She agreed she told Lattouf she “tried to stop this happening” and confirmed it was the Human Rights Watch post that was the problem.
Green said she told Lattouf “it could have been referred up as high as Mr Anderson’s office”, which she inferred from the ABC’s editorial policy to refer upwards.
Green said she recalled the radio host asking if she would ever work at the ABC again, to which Green responded that they would talk about it later, but she would love to have her back.
Lattouf has raised more than $100,000 for her legal fees through an online fundraising campaign.
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