A woman has won more than £70,000 in a payout after she was unlawfully terminated by Australia's national broadcaster over a social media post about the war in Gaza.
Australian Broadcasting Corporation was today ordered to pay the sum of A$150,000 (around £73,000) to ex-presenter Antoinette Lattouf after it was found to have breached workplace law.
The broadcaster has 28 days to make the new payment.
This comes in addition to the A$70,000 in compensation Ms Lattouf was already awarded in June.
Ms Lattouf was employed by ABC to host its Sydney Mornings radio program for five days in December, 2023.
However, she was sacked just two days into the gig after reposting a Human Rights Watch (HRW) video report to her Instagram account entitled, "The Israeli government is using starvation as a weapon of war in Gaza" adding the caption, "HRW reporting starvation as a tool of war".
Court documents stated that the termination of her employment was particularly serious because senior managers at ABC "knew there was an organised political campaign to have Ms Lattouf removed".
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Antoinette Lattouf following a social media post she made about Gaza (file photo)
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Justice Rangiah stated: "The ABC’s position became more difficult, caught between the campaign by pro-Israel lobbyists, its statutory obligation of impartiality, including the appearance of impartiality, and Ms Lattouf pouring fuel on the fire by making a social media post that was obviously going to be controversial.
"The ABC’s response was to surrender to the lobbyists’ political campaign by sacrificing Ms Lattouf.
"It did so for spurious reasons and without giving Ms Lattouf the opportunity to defend herself."
Justice Rangiah added that ABC's actions had caused "very significant consequences" for Ms Lattouf.
He added: "For most people, employment is not just a source of income, but contributes substantially to their sense of purpose, identity and self-worth.
"The unlawful termination of their employment for alleged misconduct, particularly where the employee has been given no chance to defend themselves against the accusations made, can be devastating."
Justice Rangiah said that the human consequences of the unlawful termination "ought not to be underestimated".
In a statement today, ABC's Managing Director said: "The ABC acknowledges today’s Federal Court decision on penalties in the matter involving Antoinette Lattouf and will continue to reflect on the Court’s findings.
"This matter has been deeply felt at the ABC. As I’ve said previously, it was not handled in line with our values and expectations and Ms Lattouf, our staff and the public were let down.
"We take the matter seriously and have reflected on the lessons learned and their implications. We must be better.
"I would like to reiterate the ABC’s sincere apology to Ms Lattouf and wish her all the best in the future."