Former ABC chair Ita Buttrose was actively involved in pushing for journalist Antoinette Lattouf’s removal from the broadcaster, newly revealed court documents have shown. The explosive details emerged in the Federal Court as Lattouf, who is suing the ABC for unlawful dismissal, faced intense cross-examination over social media posts related to the war in Gaza.
According to reports from The Australian and The Sydney Morning Herald, emails read in court on Monday revealed that Buttrose had expressed frustration over complaints regarding Lattouf, who was briefly employed as a fill-in presenter on ABC Radio Sydney in December 2023.
“Has Antoinette been replaced? I’m over getting emails about her,” Buttrose wrote to ABC managing director David Anderson.
Anderson responded, stating that Lattouf would “finish up on Friday” and that her exit would be “managed given the situation.” In a further exchange, Buttrose was unequivocal: “We owe her nothing. We’re copping criticism because she wasn’t honest when she was appointed.”
Lattouf’s dismissal, which came just three days into her five-day contract, followed a barrage of complaints from what her lawyers described as a “spectacularly successful campaign” by pro-Israel lobby groups. The ABC received complaints about her views on the Israel-Gaza conflict, particularly social media posts she shared before and during her time at the broadcaster.
One such post included a Human Rights Watch report stating that “starvation [was being used] as a tool of war.” During cross-examination, ABC barrister Ian Neil SC pressed Lattouf on whether she considered her posts controversial. Lattouf defended her position, asserting that “facts are never controversial” and that she did not assess posts based on how people “may feel.”
However, internal ABC communications presented in court indicated significant concern within the organisation. Anderson had texted ABC’s then-chief content officer Chris Oliver-Taylor, saying, “I think we have an Antoinette issue,” and later referenced her social media presence as being “full of antisemitic hatred.”
The case has also revealed internal disagreements at the ABC. Simon Melkman, the broadcaster’s top editorial adviser, argued that Lattouf had not breached ABC editorial policies or social media guidelines, and that complaints against her were “seriously misguided.”
Buttrose, who stepped down as ABC chair in March 2024, had been a key figure in the controversy. In response to Anderson’s plan for a “managed exit,” she wrote: “Managed exit, really? We should be in damage control not managed exits, David.”
The high-profile case is ongoing, with Anderson, Buttrose, and Oliver-Taylor all expected to give evidence. Lattouf, who first took her case to the Fair Work Commission, claims her dismissal was based on political opinion and/or race, and violated the ABC’s enterprise agreement.