ABC managing director David Anderson says Antoinette Lattouf’s social media account featured “anti-Semitic” content and he was worried she would repeat her views on air, a court has heard.
Ms Lattouf’s high-profile trial has entered its fourth day in the Federal Court.
Ms Lattouf sued after she was sent home for the final two days of a five-day fill-in stint on ABC Radio’s Sydney Mornings program in December 2023.
She is suing for unfair dismissal under the Fair Work Act and has claimed her sacking was motivated by complaints made during a campaign by the “pro-Israel lobby” because of her political beliefs and social media posts on the Gaza war.
She had claimed she was unlawfully sacked after sharing a post on Instagram by Human Rights Watch reading: “HRW reporting starvation as a tool of war.”
“ANTI-SEMITIC”
Mr Anderson returned to the witness stand for the second day on Thursday and detailed how after receiving dozens of email complaints about Ms Lattouf he reviewed Ms Lattouf’s Instagram.
Mr Anderson said he presumed the emails were the result of a campaign organised by a WhatsApp group – because they were similarly worded – and claimed Ms Lattouf was “anti-Semitic”.
He said on the evening of Monday, December 18 – the first day of her five scheduled shifts – he reviewed Ms Lattouf’s social media account.
“I came to look at Ms Lattouf’s social media by way of searching her name later that evening on Monday and what I saw in that social media was what Ms Lattouf’s said on the Israel-Gaza conflict, advocacy for one particular perspective,” Mr Anderson told the court on Thursday.
“I did see what I would consider anti-Semitic posts.”
“You agreed with the complainants that Ms Lattouf’s criticism of Israel was anti-Semitic? True or untrue?” Ms Lattouf’s barrister Oshie Fagir asked.
“I came to the view that … there was anti-Semitic content on her social feed, yes.”
He told the court that Ms Lattouf had a “partisan view” and was an “advocate” for one side and was worried that she would express her views on Radio Sydney.
“I had concerns that it was possible that Ms Lattouf would say similar statements while on air,” Mr Anderson said.
Mr Anderson earlier told the court it was a “serious step” and “not to be taken lightly” to take a presenter or journalist off air.
He was questioned by Mr Fagir about the decision not to take political reporter Laura Tingle from air after she told a writer’s festival that Australia was a “racist country”.
Mr Anderson told the court that it was an “impartial statement based in fact”.
He on Thursday agreed with questions from Mr Fagir that “millions” of Australians are likely to disagree with Ms Tingle’s statement.
“Now the approach you’ve just described is completely and utterly arbitrary,” Mr Fagir said.
“I wouldn’t categorise it as arbitrary,” Mr Anderson replied.
“It efficiently permits you or any other ABC decision maker to discriminate in your sanctions based on your own view of the truthfulness of the statement,” Mr Fagir said.
“I think what we do is take on board analysis and judgment as to whether or not it requires sanction, rather than indiscriminate decision.”
“HINDSIGHT”
On Wednesday, Mr Fagir cross examined Mr Anderson on why other high-profile journalists, such as Paul Barry and Laura Tingle, were not taken off the air for similarly “contentious” and “impartial” statements.
He said that, with hindsight, the broadcaster could have handled her sacking differently, and said that she should have been given a right of reply and human resources should have been consulted.
“I think there’s a step in the middle, a discussion with Ms Lattouf, and to ensure that they’ve sought the right advice from employee relations and people and culture,” Mr Anderson said.
He said there were steps missing in the decision to send her home.
“Hindsight is a wonderful thing,” Mr Anderson said.
“You would like to have seen that there was certainly a discussion with Ms Lattouf, to find out the motivation behind, what I believed at the time, was disobeying a direction.”
The ABC has claimed that ABC chief content officer Christopher Oliver-Taylor made the decision to take Ms Lattouf off air.
The ABC says Oliver-Taylor made the decision because Ms Lattouf had disobeyed a direction not to post to social media about the war several days earlier, the court heard.
The court has heard that she had a phone conversation with ABC content director Elizabeth Green on Monday, December 18 – the first day of her five-day stint during which she discussed her social media usage.
But Ms Lattouf says she came to an agreement with Ms Green to only post from “reputable” sources.
The court heard that Ms Lattouf was hired under the ABC’s “diversity policy” given she was a Lebanese-Christian from western Sydney.
The court heard that in an email, ABC head of capital city networks Steve Ahern said that several years earlier, Ms Lattouf was identified as a “potential future presenters for ABC Radio” under its diversity policy.
The court was told that Ms Lattouf was hired under the ABC’s “diversity policy” given she was a Lebanese-Christian from western Sydney.
The court was told that in an email, Mr Ahern said that several years earlier Ms Lattouf was identified among “potential future presenters for ABC Radio” under its diversity policy.
The trial continues.
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