ABC Withdraws Race Argument in Unlawful Termination Case
The ABC has withdrawn its race argument in the unlawful termination case of journalist Antoinette Lattouf, who alleges her dismissal was influenced by her political opinion and race.
The ABC has officially withdrawn its race argument in the public broadcaster's defence in an unlawful termination case launched by journalist Antoinette Lattouf.
Ms Lattouf was taken off air part way through a fill-in presenting stint on ABC Radio Sydney in December 2023.
She alleged the ABC told her she breached the organisation's social media policy after sharing a post from Human Rights Watch about the war in Gaza, with the caption "HRW reporting starvation as a tool of war".
The ABC has denied her employment was unlawfully terminated and the parties failed to resolve the matter at mediation in the Fair Work Commission last year.
Her lawyers argue that her political opinion and race played a role in the decision.
The ABC previously argued her claim of racial discrimination must fail because she had not proved that there was such a thing as "a Lebanese, Arab or Middle Eastern race," but has now proposed to file an amended opening submission.
Ms Lattouf's barrister Oshie Fagir raised the argument by the ABC on the first day of proceedings last week.
"This is a model litigant, an organisation that publicly suggests that it is confronting and treating seriously the concerns of its diverse workforce, and it comes to this court and says that Ms Lattouf should fail because it has not been proven that there is such thing as a Lebanese race," Mr Fagir said.
ABC's lawyer apologises for unredacted complaints.
The ABC's lawyer also apologised after a number of unredacted complaints from pro-Israel individuals were uploaded in an affidavit published by the Federal Court website.
The complaints and their identities were subject to a suppression order last week.
The unredacted information published included personal details including names, emails, phone numbers and some addresses.
"I am deeply unhappy about the error made by the ABC's legal representatives," Justice Darryl Rangiah said.
Mr Neil apologised, telling the court it was filed in the "mistaken belief" that it was redacted and cited human error.
