A key decision maker in Antionette Lattouf’s unlawful termination case against the ABC admits there was ‘pressure from above’ to remove her from air. Facing tense cross-examination in a Sydney court, Chris Oliver-Taylor insisted he did not know Ms Lattouf’s race, nor her political opinions about the conflict in Gaza.
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00:00Between a rock and a hard place, that's what Chief Content Officer Chris Oliver-Taylor
00:07believes is the best description of the situation the ABC faced in December 2023. Antoinette
00:14Latouf had begun a five-day radio presenting contract and her social media activity had
00:20been flagged. There was a clear view from others within the ABC, senior managers of
00:25the ABC, that we potentially had put on air, on live radio, someone who had published views
00:31that would then risk the impartiality of the ABC. During his cross-examination today, he
00:37wouldn't accept that he knew her opinion on the Israel-Gaza conflict.
00:42I'm not an expert in the Israel-Gaza war. I'm not an expert in nuances of the debate.
00:47I don't want to suggest I know Ms Latouf's views either way. I don't. It's an incredibly
00:52complicated issue. Ms Latouf was taken off air after sharing this post from Human Rights
00:57Watch. A key question is whether she'd received a direction to not post about the subject
01:03or not post at all. Ms Latouf claims her manager told her reputable sources would be fine.
01:10Was there confusion about the direction given to Antoinette Latouf?
01:13There'd been advice from the acting editorial director that there was no basis to remove
01:18Ms Latouf.
01:20By the middle of her contracted week, Chris Oliver-Taylor was receiving outside complaints
01:25about Ms Latouf, forwarded from the former ABC chair Ita Buttrose. But he didn't accept
01:30the suggestion he'd been put in a deeply unfair position by his bosses. He told the court
01:36due diligence wasn't done as it should have been, and he was trying to protect the journalist.
01:42The published views meant that it was a very difficult decision that my colleagues had
01:46made, and then there was pressure from above. I accept that. The ABC denies race or political
01:52opinion was a factor. If Ms Latouf had not been Lebanese, she would not have been removed
01:58from air. That had no bearing on the decision, sir.
02:02The hearing continues next week.