Maronites call for review of ABC over Lattouf case
13/02/2025
(See translation in Arabic section)
Sydney-Middle East Times Int'l: Like many fellow Australians, we have been following with interest and concern the Federal Court proceedings brought by journalist Antoinette Lattouf against our national broadcaster, the ABC.
The case relates to her dismissal from the ABC after she shared a Human Rights Watch post on Instagram, titled "HRW reporting starvation as a tool of war" in Gaza. Notably, the ABC itself had reported on the same post in the days before.
While we make no comment on the merits of the legal proceedings, our focus is on the broader issues that transcend the specific circumstances and legal issues raised in the matter.
As an Eastern Catholic Church, with the majority of our members being Lebanese Australians, we feel compelled to convey the deep distress and concern within our community regarding elements of conduct and culture at the ABC, as suggested by the reported claims made by the ABC and evidence in these proceedings.
Particularly troubling is the suggestions, reportedly made by Ms Lattouf’s barrister, Mr. Oshie Fagir, that the ABC asserts her racial discrimination claim must fail because "Ms Lattouf has not proven there is a Lebanese, Arab, or Middle Eastern race." While this may be a technical legal argument, now withdrawn, the message to our community from such a position is in essence a denial of identity to Lebanese Australians.
Compounding this perception, but recognising the contradiction, is the apparent linking, by senior ABC executives, of Ms Lattouf’s Lebanese heritage and Christian religion to her impartiality as a journalist. This may be discerned from internal emails between Managing Director David Anderson and senior ABC executives referred to in the evidence. Such a linkage would be a compromise of the integrity of our national broadcaster and is an unacceptable betrayal of its avowed impartiality and objectivity.
We are also concerned that the ABC, at its most senior levels, appears to have succumbed to pressure from an orchestrated campaign to dismiss a journalist of Lebanese background, one who was reportedly hired "…having regard to the ABC’s diversity policy" (as stated in an email to Mr Anderson by then-ABC Sydney Radio manager Steve Ahern), without affording her due process or a right of reply.
Furthermore, it is difficult to understand how the ABC concluded that Ms Lattouf’s Instagram post was "antisemitic" (as stated in the evidence of Mr Anderson) when the ABC itself had published the same material. However, it is particularly important that we recognise the dangers of antisemitism and do everything we can to work against it.
These concerns raise serious questions about the potential for systemic bias and racial discrimination at the ABC, consistent with the findings of the Listen Loudly, Act Strongly Independent Review into ABC Systems and Processes in Support of Staff who Experience Racism, published in late 2024.
The review noted the “…inconsistencies in how impartiality is understood and applied in the ABC, pointing out that assumptions are made that people who are First Nations and CALD [Culturally and Linguistically Diverse] cannot be as objective as their counterparts when reporting on issues related to their racial groups (see p.15) and that an example of the overt racism was “Assuming that First Nations or CALD staff cannot report on matters relating to them/their cultural background with objectivity” (see p.42).
Any attempt to silence or muzzle diverse perspectives, overtly or covertly, would be inconsistent with the ABC’s statutory and moral obligations to the Australian people.
Given the significance of these matters for Lebanese Australians and all Australians, and in the interests of social cohesion, freedom of speech, and racial and religious tolerance, we call for a further independent review of the ABC, regardless of the outcome of the current proceedings. These issues go beyond the specific facts or technical issues of this case. They strike at the core of fairness, representation, and trust in our national broadcaster. 
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