ABC’s chief political correspondent Laura Tingle wrote to the then chair Ita Buttrose to express her “deep concern” that someone senior had leaked information about Antoinette Lattouf’s dismissal to News Corp’s The Australian newspaper, the federal court was told.
An article about Lattouf’s removal from ABC Sydney radio was published by The Australian shortly after the journalist was called in and told she could not return to finish her two shifts because she posted about the Israel-Gaza war.
Tingle’s concern was revealed during the cross-examination of Buttrose on Tuesday afternoon, on day six of the unlawful termination case brought by Lattouf against the ABC before Justice Darryl Rangiah.
In addition to her reporting role, Tingle is the ABC staff-elected director on the broadcaster’s board.
“Whether or not she breached the social media code, the fact that someone apparently senior briefed The Australian on it and (I suspect) verballed your actual role in any action taken on it, is almost as spectacular an error of judgement as any social media breach,” Tingle wrote.
“It leaves both Antoinette and the ABC suffering reputational damage.”
Tingle added that the incident had “deeply unsettled staff, who feel the ABC is not supporting them”.
“A widely held view is ‘well, they hired her to do these shifts knowing what she had written/reported, and have now buckled in the face of pressure from the Israel lobby’.”
The court heard last week that content chief Chris Oliver-Taylor had taken a call from The Australian and said “no comment” but was unaware of who had leaked the story. The evidence has also shown he wanted to dismiss Lattouf before The Australian published the article.
Earlier, Buttrose denied she knew Lattouf had been targeted by the pro-Israel lobby or that she knew many of the complaints she received were part of a coordinated campaign.
She denied the ABC had buckled in the face of pressure from the pro-Israel lobby, and accused counsel for Lattouf, Philip Boncardo, of trying to suggest it.
“I know that you’ve been trying to make that inference here today,” Buttrose said.
Buttrose said she did not pressure the managing director David Anderson to take Lattouf off ABC radio, even though she believed it was “quite apparent” the journalist was an “activist” in relation to the Israel-Gaza conflict.
“She was a controversial broadcaster, and I think – in relation to the Gaza-Israel conflict – she was an activist, that was quite apparent,” she said.
“I drew the conclusion, and I don’t think we should have hired an activist of any kind, regardless of whatever view they held.”
Questioned why she asked Anderson “has she been replaced”, Buttrose said she was simply “asking for an update” on the situation because she was sick of getting multiple emails.
“I observed from reading the letters, the letter-writers felt that we were not being impartial, and I was concerned about what that would do for the ABC’s reputation and 702,” Buttrose said.
She agreed she did not research of her own into whether Lattouf was an activist.
Buttrose said she expected Lattouf would lose her job because she had a long career in the media and she knew intuitively what would happen.
Buttrose laughed when Boncardo questioned her email asking Anderson why Lattouf couldn’t “come down with flu or COVID or a stomach upset”.
It was a “face-saving suggestion”, she said adding: “I just thought it might be easier for Antoinette”.
Boncardo: “That is not truthful evidence, Ms Buttrose.”
Buttrose: “If I wanted somebody removed, I’d be franker than that.”
The 83-year-old, who arrived in court in a wheelchair, due to back surgery, denied that she was pleased Lattouf had been terminated.
“I didn’t wish her to be removed,” she said. “I didn’t put pressure on anybody. It’s a fantasy of your own imagination. I have nothing to do with her dismissal,” she said.
A congratulatory email from a complainant that thanked Buttrose, Anderson and the board for making the “right decision to fire Ms Lattouf from the national broadcaster” was also put before the court.
Buttrose had forwarded it to Anderson with the note: “nice to get congratulatory emails”.
Buttrose said she did not know Lattouf was Lebanese and although they had both appeared on Channel Ten’s Studio 10 program in 2013 she did not remember meeting her.
“People’s colour doesn’t really worry me at all,” Buttrose said.
Lattouf was taken off air three days into a five-day casual contract in December 2023 after she posted on social media about the Israel-Gaza war.
The Fair Work Commission found she was sacked from a casual presenting role on ABC local radio, opening the way for her to lodge an unlawful termination in the federal court.
