Antoinette Lattouf v ABC As it happened: ABC did not want to bow to pressure from The Australian says content chief

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Hello and welcome back to our coverage of the Antoinette Lattouf v ABC trial in the Federal Court.

I am Calum Jaspan, and today it’s day five of the proceedings, which just so happens to be the same length of time Lattouf was employed to fill in as a casual presenter on ABC Radio Sydney in December 2023. Proceedings will get under way at 9.30am AEDT.

ABC Chief Content Officer Christopher Oliver-Taylor arrives at the Federal Court on Friday, 7 February 2025.Credit: Nikki Short

Lattouf was sacked three days in, and has since claimed she was unlawfully terminated, which is where we find ourselves now.

So far this trial, we’ve heard both Lattouf and the ABC’s arguments, as well as lengthy cross-examinations of both Lattouf and the broadcaster’s outgoing managing director, David Anderson.

That brings to an end today’s cross-examination. Justice Rangiah asks if the parties are confident the remaining witnesses can be cross-examined across two days.

One of the remaining witnesses may need to appear via video link, the ABC’s barrister Ian Neil SC says.

The court has now adjourned until 10.15am on Tuesday. We are likely to see the remaining witnesses then, which includes former chair Ita Buttrose.

Thanks for joining me this week, we’ll see you on Tuesday.

Chris Oliver-Taylor took a call from Sophie Elsworth, a journalist from The Australian at 12.10pm on Wednesday December 20, before the meeting with ABC executives.

He says he told her “no comment” and directed her inquiries to Nick Leys, head of communications.

Lattouf’s barrister Oshie Fagir asks why this call was not referenced in Oliver-Taylor’s affidavit.

Lattouf’s barrister Oshie Fagir [right] has asked Chris Oliver-Taylor why a call with a News Corp journalist was not in evidence. Credit: Kate Geraghty

“I didn’t think it was relevant,” he says. Oliver-Taylor says at this point that he was aware The Australian was going to run a story.

At this point, Lattouf was yet to be removed from her position on air.

He later says in an email to ABC boss David Anderson he wanted to “beat” The Australian to the story.

Oliver-Taylor did not want to be seen to be bowing to the pressure of The Australian to take a presenter off-air.

“We thought that’d be very unfair,” Oliver-Taylor says, when asked by Fagir if he wanted to “beat” the Australian to the story.

That day, a story ran in The Australian reporting Lattouf had been “sacked”.

Oliver-Taylor say it was not his job to correct that, rather the role of Nick Leys, the ABC’s head of communications.

Oliver-Taylor skirts around taking full responsibility for the decision, while Fagir references an email sent by Lattouf later that day, looking for further answers over her sacking.

“I was the senior person involved in those conversations,” he says.

“If anyone could answer her questions as to how she came to be off-air, it was you,” Fagir, Lattouf’s barrister says.

“One of a few people that could,” Oliver-Taylor responds.

The ABC’s communications boss, Nick Leys, sought to clarify which policy Lattouf breached, and whether it was social media or editorial, Lattouf’s barrister Oshie Fagir says.

Oliver-Taylor did not respond to his email, Fagir tells the court.

After repeated questions, Oliver-Taylor finally says he believes Lattouf’s Human Rights Watch post breached the personal use of social media guidelines.

“Impartiality and bias,” Oliver-Taylor says in his reasoning.

Fagir calls the evidence Oliver-Taylor has given today “shambolic”.

The ABC’s content boss Chris Oliver-Taylor emailed the ABC’s head of communications Nick Leys to say “it looks like AL has now breached editorial guidelines”, Oshie Fagir, Antoinette Lattouf’s barrister, tells the court.

At this point, a journalist from The Australian, Sophie Elsworth, had sent Leys questions regarding Lattouf.

Just after 1pm on Wednesday December 20, 2023, Oliver-Taylor emailed Leys, saying he was trying to reach ABC managing director David Anderson.

Earlier evidence showed Oliver-Taylor had attempted to call Anderson twice at 1pm, who was at that time having lunch with then-chair Ita Buttrose.

Oliver-Taylor rejects the suggestion this was an attempt to seek approval from Anderson.

At this point, the ABC’s content boss Chris Oliver-Taylor still says he did not have a view as to whether Antoinette Lattouf’s posts were partial or impartial.

Yet Lattouf’s barrister Oshie Fagir reads a text Oliver-Taylor sent to ABC managing director David Anderson to say it “looks like she has breached editorial impartiality”.

“I think I confused social media policy, my understanding of that, with editorial policy, with impartiality, in the context of some text messages,” Oliver-Taylor says about the pressure he was facing.

“Mr Oliver-Taylor, can I suggest to you that the only time you use the word ‘direction’ in this context, was in text messages you sent to the managing director?” Oshie Fagir, Antoinette Lattouf’s barrister, asks.

Fagir suggests Oliver-Taylor made the decision in the circumstances with a “complete lack of clarity” because he wanted Lattouf off-air.

“That is not correct,” says Oliver-Taylor.

At this point, Oliver-Taylor says journalists had been chasing him “all week” with questions over the matter, but he does not remember which journalists they were.

After ABC executives told Antoinette Lattouf she was being taken off-air, Steve Ahern recounted the details of the meeting to Oliver-Taylor.

Oliver-Taylor says he was told Lattouf had been “advised not to post anything that could be perceived as controversial” on her socials, while with the ABC.

Lattouf, pictured today, was taken off-air after a Microsoft Teams meeting between ABC executives. Credit: Nikki Short

There is now some back and forth about whether there was a misunderstanding over the wording of the directive that was given to Lattouf, and whether she had been advised or directed not to post.

Oliver-Taylor says he did not go back to confirm this.

“I think, in my view, those are the same thing. I felt that was the same thing,” he says.

Oliver-Taylor was not qualified to distinguish between what is and is not controversial content, in relation to the Israel-Gaza conflict, he says.

He says his recollection of the events was that he instructed Ben Latimer to direct Lattouf not to post anything about the Israel-Gaza war.

He says he believed this directive had been given to Lattouf, and this was done through Latimer’s staff.

During this Teams call and through discussion, Oliver-Taylor made the decision to take Lattouf off-air.

While there was agreement, he says “I am the senior person in that room”.