Former ABC presenter Antoinette Lattouf suffers major defeat in attempt to sue the national broadcaster over her dismissal
Former ABC radio presenter Antoinette Lattouf has failed to get the public broadcaster to hand over a series of emails relating to her dismissal.
Ms Lattouf was sacked from her informal hosting role at the channel last year and took the ABC before the Fair Work Commission in December, claiming the decision was political because of her position on Palestine and her Lebanese heritage.
On Friday, the committee rejected Ms Lattouf's request to order the ABC to hand over emails sent to chairman Ita Buttrose and director David Anderson calling for the station's removal, the committee said. ABC.
It was previously revealed that a coordinated campaign by Jewish lawyers had tried to have Ms Lattouf fired.
Secret WhatsApp messages from a 156-strong Australian group called Lawyers for Israel revealed how they bombarded ABC chairman Ita Buttrose with emails threatening legal action unless the presenter was fired.
Antoinette Lattouf leaves a Fair Work Commission hearing in Sydney in January
But the ABC said its claim was “without merit” in legal documents filed by the broadcaster with the Fair Work Commission.
The broadcaster claimed that 'any 'political views' expressed by (Ms Lattouf) were completely irrelevant to (and played no part in) the ABC's decision'.
The ABC claims Ms Lattouf breached the broadcaster's policy on bias when she shared a link to a Human Rights Watch report on the war in Gaza.
'The ABC has decided not to require (Ms Lattouf) to perform the last two of her five shifts as an informal presenter because (she) had failed or refused to follow up on directions she did not post on social media on controversial issues during During the short period she presented a radio program on the radio station 'ABC Sydney', according to the submitted defense.
In January, about 80 ABC employees at the organization's Ultimo headquarters in Sydney threatened to strike over concerns about “outside interference” and the organization's handling of complaints against staff.
Antoinette Lattouf previously thanked the 'millions' of Australians who stood by her in her wrongful dismissal case against the ABC after she was fired three days after her dismissal
'MEAA media members at the ABC today called on director David Anderson to urgently meet with staff and address growing concerns about outside interference and culturally unsafe management practices and to stand up for journalism without fear or favour' , the union wrote on X.
That same day, Ms Lattouf shared, later deleted, a post on her Instagram account from comedian Dan Ilic, who wrote: 'This saga will end with the firing of Ita (Buttrose) and David Anderson because they forgot what their job was.'
Ms Lattouf, who is described in her Fair Work claim as a 'multi-award winning journalist, with many years of experience in television, radio and podcast news and current affairs', has so far raised almost $54,000 for her legal battle.
The case will be heard by Gerard Boyce, the deputy chairman of the Fair Work Commission.