Welcome back to our coverage of the ongoing trial between Antoinette Lattouf and the ABC in the Federal Court.
I’m Calum Jaspan, and today marks day five of the trial. Interestingly, this is the same duration Lattouf worked as a casual presenter on ABC Radio Sydney in December 2023. The court will resume at 9:30 AM AEDT. Lattouf was dismissed after only three days of employment and is now alleging unlawful termination, which is the central issue under examination.
So far in the trial, we’ve heard both sides present their arguments, along with extensive cross-examinations of Lattouf and the ABC’s outgoing managing director, David Anderson.
Latest Updates
That concludes today’s session. The court will reconvene on Tuesday at 10:15 AM. Justice Rangiah asked whether both sides are confident the remaining witnesses can be cross-examined within two days. One witness might need to appear via video link, according to the ABC’s barrister, Ian Neil SC. We expect to hear from further witnesses, including former chair Ita Buttrose, on Tuesday.
Thanks for following the trial this week. We’ll see you again on Tuesday.
Omission of call with journalist from evidence
Chris Oliver-Taylor, the ABC’s content chief, received a call from Sophie Elsworth, a reporter from The Australian, at 12:10 PM on Wednesday, December 20, before meeting with ABC executives. He said he told her “no comment” and referred her inquiries to Nick Leys, the head of communications. Lattouf’s barrister, Oshie Fagir, questioned why this call wasn’t mentioned in Oliver-Taylor’s affidavit. Oliver-Taylor responded that he didn’t think it was relevant at the time, even though he knew The Australian was preparing to publish a story. At this point, Lattouf had not yet been taken off air. Oliver-Taylor later sent an email to ABC managing director David Anderson, stating his intention to “beat” The Australian to the story.
Oliver-Taylor sought to ‘beat’ The Australian to the story
Oliver-Taylor stated that he didn’t want to appear as if he was giving in to The Australian’s pressure to remove a presenter from the air. When Fagir asked if he was trying to “beat” the paper to the story, Oliver-Taylor explained that it would have been “very unfair” to allow The Australian to influence the decision. On the same day, The Australian published a report claiming that Lattouf had been “sacked.” Oliver-Taylor insisted that correcting the story wasn’t his responsibility but instead should have been handled by Nick Leys, the ABC’s head of communications.
Oliver-Taylor avoids direct responsibility for the decision
When asked if he took full responsibility for removing Lattouf from air, Oliver-Taylor hesitated to claim complete accountability. Fagir referred to an email from Lattouf that day, asking for more details regarding her dismissal. Oliver-Taylor acknowledged his role but said, “One of a few people that could” provide the necessary answers.
Confusion over which policy Lattouf breached
Nick Leys, the ABC’s communications head, had inquired which policy Lattouf allegedly violated, specifically whether it was related to social media or editorial guidelines. Oliver-Taylor did not respond to this email initially, but after further questioning, he stated that he believed Lattouf’s Human Rights Watch post violated the social media guidelines, citing issues related to impartiality and bias. Fagir criticized Oliver-Taylor’s explanation as “shambolic.”
Correspondence amid questions from The Australian newspaper
Chris Oliver-Taylor emailed Nick Leys to say it seemed Lattouf had violated editorial guidelines. At this point, journalist Sophie Elsworth from The Australian had already sent Leys questions about Lattouf. Later, Oliver-Taylor attempted to contact ABC managing director David Anderson, who was having lunch with former chair Ita Buttrose. Oliver-Taylor denied that he was seeking Anderson’s approval during this time.
Uncertainty surrounding different ABC policies
Oliver-Taylor admitted he was unsure whether Lattouf’s posts were impartial. However, Lattouf’s lawyer, Oshie Fagir, presented a text message from Oliver-Taylor to Anderson that indicated Lattouf had breached editorial impartiality guidelines. Oliver-Taylor explained that he had confused the social media policy with editorial impartiality standards due to the pressure he was facing at the time.
‘Journalists were chasing me all week,’ says Oliver-Taylor
Oliver-Taylor explained that journalists had been contacting him “all week” for comments on the matter but could not recall which specific journalists had reached out. Fagir suggested that Oliver-Taylor made the decision to take Lattouf off-air in a rush and without clear direction, but Oliver-Taylor denied this.
Did Lattouf receive a directive or advice not to post?
Following ABC executives’ decision to take Lattouf off air, Steve Ahern informed Oliver-Taylor of the meeting’s details. Oliver-Taylor recalled being told that Lattouf had been “advised” not to post anything controversial on her social media while working with the ABC. The court debated whether Lattouf was “advised” or “directed” not to post, with Oliver-Taylor asserting that he viewed both terms as the same. He did not follow up to confirm this with Lattouf.
The moment Oliver-Taylor decided to take Lattouf off-air
Oliver-Taylor acknowledged he wasn’t qualified to assess whether Lattouf’s posts regarding the Israel-Gaza conflict were controversial. He recalled instructing Ben Latimer to inform Lattouf not to post about the conflict. He believed this directive had been conveyed to Lattouf, and the decision to take her off air was made during a Teams call. Oliver-Taylor emphasized that, as the senior person in the room, he took responsibility for the decision.