A $150,000 fine levied against the ABC is intended to encourage employers to hold strong against boycotts, public shaming and cancel culture.
The penalty was imposed on Wednesday against the public broadcaster, which breached workplace law when it sacked journalist Antoinette Lattouf from her casual role on ABC Radio Sydney’s Mornings program in 2023.
The organisation “surrendered” to a co-ordinated email campaign against Lattouf by pro-Israel lobbyists and sacrificed her for spurious reasons, Justice Darryl Rangiah found.
The journalist shared a post relating to the conflict in Gaza and was unlawfully terminated for her political opinion.
Justice Rangiah said a large penalty was required because the ABC would likely be subject to the same kinds of pressure over different issues in the future.
“(Mass) communication through social media has given lobby groups from all sides of the political spectrum increasing power to engage in campaigns of boycotting, public shaming and cancelling of businesses and organisations,” the Federal Court judge wrote in his decision.
“It is necessary to set the penalties at a level calculated to deter not just the ABC, but other employers, from dismissing their employees in such circumstances.”
In removing Lattouf from the air without giving her the chance to defend her actions, chief content officer Christopher Oliver-Taylor blithely ignored the risk the ABC would contravene the terms of its enterprise agreement, the judge said.
Mr Oliver-Taylor did not consult with human relations or the legal department.
Instead, he sacked her to “beat a story” due to be published by The Australian about Lattouf’s employment, the judge found.
Ita Buttrose and David Anderson, then the broadcaster’s chair and managing director, had both expressed displeasure at Lattouf’s hiring.
But the final decision was Mr Oliver-Taylor’s alone, Justice Rangiah found.
The ABC was in a difficult position, caught between the lobbyists’ campaign and Lattouf’s decision to share an Instagram post saying starvation was used as a “tool of war” in Gaza.
However, the judge said its conduct was still particularly serious.
“The ABC’s response was to surrender to the lobbyists’ political campaign by sacrificing Ms Lattouf,” he said.
The ABC was “a trusted, respected and cherished part of the Australian cultural fabric” that ignored its obligations of independence and integrity, Justice Rangiah said.
It was also required to maintain high employment standards as a public organisation.
“The ABC let down the Australian public badly when it abjectly surrendered the rights of its employee Ms Lattouf to appease a lobby group,” the judge said.
The ABC defended the case but showed contrition after its loss.
But that contrition was undermined by a failure to investigate the source of a leak of internal information to The Australian about Lattouf’s termination, the judge said.
Lattouf called for a $350,000 fine, while the ABC argued it deserved to pay no more than $56,340.
The $150,000 is due to be paid to the sacked journalist and comes in addition to the $70,000 in damages she was previously awarded.
The broadcaster has spent more than $2 million in taxpayer funds defending the case.
“Whatever the penalty, for me this was never about money – it’s always been about accountability and the integrity of the information our public broadcaster gives us,” Lattouf said in a statement posted on X on Tuesday.
“I hope the ABC takes this opportunity to restore credibility, regain trust and re-establish integrity because our democracy depends on a strong fourth estate.”
ABC managing director Hugh Marks, who was appointed in December to take over from Mr Anderson, apologised to Lattouf and said the matter had been educational and “deeply felt” within the organisation.
“We must be better,” he said.
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