A court in Australia has found that the country’s national broadcaster, ABC, unlawfully dismissed a journalist over a social media post about the Israel-Gaza war two years ago. The court ordered ABC to pay her $115,500 (Rs 64.5 lakh) in compensation, ruling that the sacking violated labour laws protecting political expression. Antoinette Lattouf, had sued the ABC stating that she was taken off the air in December 2023 for expressing her political opinion over the war on social media platform. Lattouf, a vocal critic of Israel's actions in Gaza, had made an Instagram post highlighting a Human Rights Watch report that accused Israel of "using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza". Calling it a violation of the country's labour laws and upholding her freedom to express her political opinion, Justice Darryl Rangiah of the Federal Court of Australia ordered the ABC to pay her a combined compensation total of $1,15,500 (Rs 64,52,750). Further legal proceedings will determine whether the ABC will have to pay additional financial penalties. Her dismissal had triggered widespread criticism online then with many arguing about how and by whom the war should be covered. Several people also had questioned ABC over its independence and raised concerns over how the media organisation supports staff, especially those who are culturally diverse. The ABC argued in court that Lattouf had violated the company's social media guidelines and added that she was a freelance contractor, filling in on a morning radio program, and she was never terminated. “Soon after Ms Lattouf presented her first program, the ABC began to receive complaints from members of the public. The complaints asserted she had expressed antisemitic views, lacked impartiality and was unsuitable to present any program for the ABC. It became clear that the complaints were an orchestrated campaign by pro-Israel lobbyists to have Ms Lattouf taken off air." the judge said. Justice Rangiah added that there was no evidence that her firing was connected to her race or national origin, as she had contended. She is Lebanese Australian. The court ruled ABC unlawfully sacked Lattouf after "orchestrated campaign by pro-Israel lobbyists". Further, the federal court observed that ABC breached the Fair Work Act with her termination “for reasons including that she held a political opinion opposing the Israeli military campaign in Gaza”. As per Australia's Fair Work Act, an employer may not take adverse action against an employee because of their political opinion or race. “The consternation of senior managers of the ABC turned into what can be described as a state of panic,” Rangiah was quoted as saying in his judgment. Lattouf was merely three days into a five-day stint when the ABC informed her she would not be going on the air for the rest of her term with the company. Following her Instagram post, she was let go off without an explanation of the terms and policies she had violated or a chance to defend herself, as per the ruling. Commenting on the court ruling, Lattouf said the "unspeakable suffering" of children in Gaza was continuing and, that the judge's ruling demonstrated that penalising someone for speaking up about it was illegal. “I was punished for my political opinion,” Lattouf said. With inputs from New York Times, The Guardian, BBC
