The ABC’s actions in the Antoinett Lattouf constitute censorship and are contravene its obligations towards its employees and public.
Journalist Antoinette Lattouf is currently awaiting a decision in her Federal Court case against the ABC for unlawful termination.
The ABC dismissed Lattouf in December 2023, three days into a five day casual contract as a presenter on ABC Radio Sydney. During her contract Lattouf shared a Human Rights Watch post with the caption “HRW reporting starvation as a tool of war” on her personal Instagram account. The ABC had previously published an online news story citing the same Human Rights Watch Report.
The then Content Director of Radio Sydney, Elisabeth Green, gave evidence in court that she had agreed with Lattouf in a phone conversation that “it was okay for her to post something that was fact-based, from a verified source, or from a reputable organisation”.
The ABC’s actions since the beginning of this saga suggest that the ABC has acted against; freedom of expression, the public’s right to know and the best financial interests of the public broadcaster.
This week, during a Senate estimates hearing, the ABC’s acting managing director Melanie Kleyn revealed that the public broadcaster has spent $1.1 million of public money in the legal fight against Antoinett Lattouf.
Documents revealed during the hearing provide compelling evidence that the ABC contravened its own editorial standards and Charter, as well as its legal obligation to Antoinette Lattouf as an employee.
The ABC’s panicked reaction to a series of complaints that was reported from a “pro-Israel lobby group” against Lattouf resulted in her experiencing psychological pressure, stress and racial attacks, including a recent case involving a 61-year-old Port Macquarie man charged with alleged online harassment.
The ABC’s legal team even desperately played a race card in the court and argued that Ms Lattouf has not “demonstrated the existence of a Lebanese, Arab or Middle Eastern race”, an argument it was subsequently forced to withdraw.
Both the ABC Charter and the ABC’s Editorial Policies require the ABC to ‘maintain the independence and integrity of the ABC’ and to ‘ensure that editorial decisions are not improperly influenced by political, sectional, commercial or personal interests’.
Evidence given in the Federal Court hearings made it clear that, in bowing to public pressure and sacking Ms Lattouf, ABC management has failed to “maintain the independence and integrity of the ABC” and has allowed itself to be “improperly influenced” by political and sectional interests.
Public trust in the national broadcaster has been undermined by the actions of ABC Management in this case.
Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) members at the ABC held a meeting on the 6 February that consequently issued a statement and 10 point resolution in which they demanded “The ABC must commission an independent inquiry into the broadcaster’s independence from outside interference and apologise for allowing external pressure to influence the dismissal of Antoinette Lattouf and attempts to have other journalists sacked in recent years.”
The statement lays the responsibility for protecting the independence and integrity of ABC at the feet of the Board, Chair and Managing Director; a responsibility which MEAA members believe has not been carried out: “ABC staff work tirelessly to build and maintain the ABC’s independence and integrity. It is the board’s legal duty to protect that independence and integrity. But time and again we see ABC Chairs and Managing Directors do the opposite.” the statement says. PEN Sydney supports the MEAA members resolution and calls on the ABC to fulfill its obligation to listen to the employees and bring about the changes to the organisation that have been identified by the Janke review into racial discrimination at the ABC.
PEN Sydney condemns any actions that limit freedom of expression, the public’s right to know, and the silencing of writers, journalists and the public. It is vital to remind the ABC, as a public broadcaster, of its obligation to the public to foster well informed debate. And its obligations to create a safe environment for its workers, free of harassment and intimidation where they can produce truthful and ethical journalism that contributes to the flourishing of a healthy democracy.