Latest news with #HughMarks
Daily Mail
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Taxpayers facing a $2million-plus bill for ABC's failed legal fight against Antoinette Lattouf
Taxpayers are facing a $2million-plus bill for the Australian public broadcaster's failed legal defence of its decision to fire a radio host for her views on Gaza. Antoinette Lattouf, 41, was awarded $70,000 in damages after winning her unlawful termination case in the Federal Court on Wednesday. The journalist was dismissed three days into a five-day casual radio shift in December 2023 due to a co-ordinated campaign of complaints from pro-Israel lobbyists. She shared a Human Rights Watch post saying Israel was using starvation as a 'weapon of war' in Gaza before she was terminated. Senior ABC figures told a Senate hearing in February that the broadcaster tried to settle the case on multiple occasions and had already spent $1.1 million on external lawyers to defend itself. ABC managing director Hugh Marks indicated total costs were likely to soar beyond $2 million, with Justice Rangiah yet to determine whether the ABC will pay a penalty or Lattouf's legal costs. 'It will be millions and it is not a good use of taxpayer funds,' Mr Marks told ABC Radio Melbourne on Thursday morning. 'I would suspect so (more than $2 million) because I wasn't completely aware as to where the trial will go but it sounds like there's still more work to do. 'It would have been better if it settled, it would have been better if it hadn't happened at all.' Lattouf offered to settle the case for $85,000 in July but it was rejected, her lawyer said. Josh Bornstein has revealed there were other conditions to the proposed peace deal, including an apology and another five radio shifts. Mr Marks suggested the extra radio slots were a sticking point as they would have invited the ABC to compromise its editorial independence to external influence. Justice Rangiah found the ABC had unlawfully fired Lattouf for holding a political opinion. The judgment was a complete vindication of Lattouf reposting a report that was '100 per cent accurate' and had already been covered by the ABC, former Human Rights Watch head Kenneth Roth said. Mr Roth said she did 'nothing wrong' and he was amazed the ABC had spent so much money fighting the case, even if 'undoubtedly embarrassed' at succumbing to external pressure. To be very clear, the open offer made in July 2024 to settle the case by @antoinette_news was : 1. An apology; 2. Payment of $85k compensation: 3. Providing 5 shifts on radio. The ABC rejected it, apparently because it wants to continue to blacklist @antoinette_news. — Josh Bornstein (@JoshBBornstein) June 25, 2025 'They've made a bad situation worse,' he told ABC Radio. The decision was 'groundbreaking' and gave clarity to employers about political opinions expressed by employees off-duty, Associate Professor of Law Giuseppe Carabetta told AAP. There were still questions, however, he said, pointing to comments - that he had received - that the judgment would help someone get away with hate speech. 'I don't think the decision means that at all,' he said. 'But we still don't know how far political opinion will go. That's the unknown.' The decision also reignited calls for a national human rights act. '(This litigation) draws attention to the current lack of a constitutional right to freedom of speech in Australia,' Australian Lawyers Alliance spokesperson Greg Barns SC said.
Al Jazeera
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Court says Australian broadcaster ABC wrongfully dismissed journalist
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) unlawfully dismissed a radio journalist over a social media post related to Israel's war on Gaza, a court has said. The ABC fired radio host Antoinette Lattouf in December 2023 for expressing views supporting Palestine and calling for Israel to end its bombardment of Gaza. The sacking came shortly after she posted on social media a Human Rights Watch report alleging that Israel was using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza. Lattouf took legal action after being dismissed three days into a five-day casual contract with the ABC. The broadcaster broke employment law by terminating her 'for reasons including that she held political opinions opposing the Israeli military campaign in Gaza', Federal Court Justice Darryl Rangiah said in his ruling on Wednesday. ABC senior management's consternation over the post (by HRW on Instagram) turned into a 'state of panic', the judge said, and a decision was made to take her off the air 'within the hour'. The broadcaster has apologised after being ordered to pay Antoinette Lattouf $70,000 Australian dollars ($45,000) in compensation, with a further financial penalty yet to be decided. 'We regret how the decision to remove Ms Lattouf from air was handled and the distress occasioned her,' ABC managing director Hugh Marks said. 'It's clear the matter was not handled in line with our values and expectations,' he added in a statement. 'We also let down our staff and audiences, and this failure has caused understandable concern among the public and inside the organisation,' he added. Since Israel's war on Gaza began in October 2023, journalists across the globe have been fired for expressing solidarity towards Palestinians. Jackson Frank, a sports reporter in Philadelphia, was fired by because of his tweets supporting the Palestinian cause. Zahraa al-Akhrass was dismissed by her employer, Canada's Global News, due to her social media posts drawing attention to the suffering of the Palestinians. Kasem Raad was fired from his job at Welt TV, a subsidiary of German media company Axel Springer, for questioning internal pro-Israel policies. Big Tech companies including Google and Microsoft have also fired employees who have called on the companies to withdraw their support of Israel. Last April, Google fired 28 employees following a sit-down protest over the tech giant's contract to provide cloud computing and artificial intelligence services to the Israeli government. Microsoft also fired two employees for organising a pro-Palestine vigil last year.
The Guardian
25-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Lattouf wins case against ABC; $500,000 reward to find Falconio's remains; and does ‘adult tummy time' work?
Welcome, readers, to Afternoon Update. The ABC breached the Fair Work Act when it terminated casual broadcaster Antoinette Lattouf for reasons including that she held a political opinion opposing the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, the federal court has found. The court ordered that the ABC pay Lattouf compensation of $70,000 for non-economic loss and set down a date for a hearing on whether a pecuniary penalty ought to be imposed on the ABC. In his judgment, Justice Darryl Rangiah said senior ABC managers were in a 'a state of panic' after an 'orchestrated campaign by pro-Israel lobbyists to have Ms Lattouf taken off air'. The ABC managing director, Hugh Marks, apologised for the broadcaster's handling of Lattouf's employment and for the distress it caused her. Marks said the ABC had reviewed its personal use of social media guidelines for employees, which will be replaced with new public comment guidelines. Zohran Mamdani leads NYC mayoral primary as Cuomo concedes: 'He won' NSW political staffers to appear at caravan plot inquiry after being threatened with arrest for failing to attend Australian police offer $500,000 reward in bid to find murdered British backpacker Peter Falconio's remains Doge employee 'Big Balls' has resigned, says White House official Latest Choice survey reveals Australia's grocery price divide at major supermarkets Gout Gout breaks his own 200m national record in latest stunning run On the Nullarbor plain, the world's largest hydrogen export hub is being developed. Beneath it lies an internationally significant limestone cave system, a fragile home to globally unique creatures and a time capsule of life since the Pliocene including rare cave animals and a record of ancient life forms. Scientists warn the development threatens the treasures below. 'We didn't just lose. We got smashed.' In her first appearance at the National Press Club as opposition leader, Sussan Ley addressed the Liberal party's heavy defeat at the federal election. Ley said she plans to work with every division to better represent voters as the party lays the groundwork for the next election, including preselecting more women. Australia's inflation rate has eased again, down sharply on the previous month's figure of 2.4%, bolstering expectations the Reserve Bank of Australia will lower the cash rate next month and bring further reprieve for mortgage holders. Sign up to Afternoon Update Our Australian afternoon update breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Among the overwhelming quantity of information new parents must digest is the instruction to ensure their child gets adequate 'tummy time' each day. Not content with letting infants have all the fun, adults have now co-opted the practice as a means of postural correction. But does it work, and can adult tummy time undo the dreaded 'tech neck'? Today's starter word is: THEM. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply. Enjoying the Afternoon Update? Then you'll love our Morning Mail newsletter. Sign up here to start the day with a curated breakdown of the key stories you need to know, and complete your daily news roundup. And follow the latest in US politics by signing up for This Week in Trumpland. If you have a story tip or technical issue viewing this newsletter, please reply to this email. If you are a Guardian supporter and need assistance with regards to contributions and/or digital subscriptions, please email
ABC News
25-06-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
ABC managing director says Antoinette Lattouf case not a good use of taxpayer money
The ABC's managing director says the more than $1 million spent in litigation with journalist Antoinette Lattouf was not "a good use of taxpayers' money" following her win in the Federal Court. A Federal Court judge on Wednesday found Ms Lattouf was unlawfully terminated by the ABC after she was taken off air three days into a five-day contract as an ABC Radio Sydney presenter in December 2023. Justice Darryl Rangiah ruled the ABC contravened the Fair Work Act by terminating her employment for reasons "including that she held a political opinion opposing the Israeli military campaign in Gaza". Managing director Hugh Marks told ABC News Channel the matter was "regrettable". "Let's face it, as it's been reported, many millions of dollars have been spent that shouldn't have been spent," he said. In February, the ABC told Senate estimates the broadcaster had spent at least $1.1 million in its defence. Attempts by Ms Lattouf had been made to resolve the matter at the Fair Work Commission last year, her lawyer said. Justice Rangiah said the ABC must pay Ms Lattouf $70,000 compensation for "non-economic loss" and further court hearings will be held to determine pecuniary penalty for breaching the Fair Work Act. In his judgment, Justice Rangiah said the decision to terminate Ms Lattouf's employment was in part "made to appease pro-Israel lobbyists". "It became clear that the complaints were an orchestrated campaign by pro-Israel lobbyists to have Ms Lattouf taken off air," Justice Rangiah wrote in his judgment. "The complaints caused great consternation amongst the senior management of the ABC." In response, Mr Marks said the broadcaster's processes as they stood were "clear" but were not followed in this instance. "I don't think there's any change that's needed. I think the process is clear, there is defined separation between management — between the conduct of the organisation and external forces," he said. "The proof will be in the pudding about how we act on that basis going forward. Our obligations are to ensure fairness, impartiality in our reporting and coverage." Mr Marks said a "big part" of his role would be to address the influence of external forces going forward. In an earlier written statement, Mr Marks said the ABC acknowledged the Federal Court's decision, adding the broadcaster "let down our staff and audiences". "This failure has caused understandable concern among the public and inside the organisation," he said. "The values of the ABC must be reflected in how we work. In this case the judge found the correct processes weren't followed and, consequently, errors were made." In the statement, Mr Marks said the ABC specifically regretted "how the decision to remove Ms Lattouf from air was handled", noting the distress it in turn caused her. "We extend our sincere apologies to Ms Lattouf and wish her well in her future endeavours," he said. Mr Marks, a former Nine Entertainment chief executive, was appointed as former ABC managing director David Anderson's successor in December 2024. Former chair Ita Buttrose and former ABC chief content officer Chris Oliver-Taylor — both of whom were cross-examined in the Federal Court proceedings — have since left the ABC.
AU Financial Review
11-06-2025
- Business
- AU Financial Review
ABC cuts 50 roles as Hugh Marks swings axe on digital, Q+A
The ABC has cut roughly half of a 110-strong digital content team in addition to the Q+A live talk show, in some of the first major changes from new managing director Hugh Marks since he started in March. Forty people have been made redundant and 10 more were told their contracts will end early at meetings on Wednesday, in what Marks described in an internal email as the ABC stepping back from 'areas that no longer align with our priorities'.
