The ABC has released a statement following the Fair Work Commission’s ruling that journalist Antoinette Lattouf was sacked by the news giant last year. Her unlawful termination case can now proceed.
“Today’s decision by the Fair Work Commission dealt with jurisdictional issues only and the substance of Ms Lattouf’s claim of unlawful termination will be determined by the Federal Court at a later date,” the ABC began in its statement.
“This dispute arises from a casual employee being advised they were not required to perform two shifts of a five-shift engagement. Ms Lattouf was paid for all five shifts, including the two shifts not worked.”
The broadcaster claimed it “has not acted on the basis of Ms Lattouf’s political opinion, race and/or national extraction or social origin.”
“In response to the claim before the Commission, the ABC maintains that it acted on the basis of a belief that Ms Lattouf had not complied with a direction in relation to her use of social media. Those matters were not the subject of today’s decision,” the publication added.
“The ABC will continue to defend the claims by Ms Lattouf in the Federal Court.”
The ABC’s statement comes after Lattouf shared her own response on Instagram.
Journalist Antoinette Lattouf responds to the Fair Work Commission’s findings
“I am pleased that the Fair Work Commission dismissed ABC’s claim that I wasn’t sacked. I believe the ABC’s challenge was a waste of taxpayers’ money, causing unnecessary delays in my pursuit of truth and justice,” she shared on Instagram.
“I remain bitterly disappointed that I was fired for posting a fact the ABC itself was also reporting, namely a report of Human Rights Watch about starvation used as a tool of war. I remain committed to achieving a just outcome in this matter, for me and a free and fair press. An unprecedented amount of journalists have been targeted and killed in Palestine. Countless journalists in Australia are also under attack. The truth isn’t always convenient or comfortable, but it doesn’t stop being factual.
“I am enormously grateful for the support I have received from many of my peers, the MEAA, my legal team, and community members. I remain passionate about an ABC that is fearless, independent, and not brittle and susceptible to external pressure. #NoFearNoFavour.”
Credit: Antoinette Lattouf / Instagram
Last year, Lattouf was engaged as a casual presenter on ABC Radio Sydney for five days, but was allegedly sacked after three over a “controversial” social media post. The post in question was a post from the Human Rights Watch about the Israel-Gaza war and the humanitarian crisis unfolding, which Lattouf shared to her Instagram stories.
The ABC said Lattouf failed to heed a directive from management to avoid posting on social media about “matters of controversy”, but Lattouf alleges she was unlawfully terminated for sharing political opinions and that race was a factor.
“The Fair Work Commission has decided that the ABC sacked @antoinette_news,” her lawyer Josh Bornstein tweeted on Monday. “It has comprehensively rejected the ABC’s jurisdictional challenge to her unlawful termination case which can now proceed to the Federal Court.”
What did Antoinette Lattouf post?
On Tuesday, 19 December, Lattouf shared a post from the Human Rights Watch to her Instagram story, which reported that the Israeli government was using starvation of civilians as a weapon of war in Gaza.
She added the comment: “HRW reporting starvation as a tool of war.”
The ABC reported on the same story, one day prior.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied starving civilians in Gaza in an interview with CNN last month, in response to the International Criminal Court requesting arrest warrants for Netanyahu, Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders on allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
