Court says Australian broadcaster ABC wrongfully dismissed journalist

Journalist Antoinette Lattouf had been fired in December 2023 for expressing views supporting Palestine.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) unlawfully dismissed a radio journalist over a social media post related to Israel’s war on Gaza, a court has said.

The ABC fired radio host Antoinette Lattouf in December 2023 for expressing views supporting Palestine and calling for Israel to end its bombardment of Gaza. The sacking came shortly after she posted on social media a Human Rights Watch report alleging that Israel was using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza.

Lattouf took legal action after being dismissed three days into a five-day casual contract with the ABC.

The broadcaster broke employment law by terminating her “for reasons including that she held political opinions opposing the Israeli military campaign in Gaza”, Federal Court Justice Darryl Rangiah said in his ruling on Wednesday.