Antoinette Lattouf vs. the ABC: Tense scenes as Ita Buttrose takes centre stage in blockbuster court case

By STEVE JACKSON FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA

Published: 22:37 GMT, 10 February 2025 | Updated: 01:08 GMT, 11 February 2025

Ita Buttrose will be in the spotlight on Tuesday as she’s grilled in the Federal Court over her role in the controversial sacking of Antoinette Lattouf as an ABC fill-in radio host.

Former ABC chair Ita Buttrose scheduled to take the stand

In what is expected to be an explosive day in the Federal Court, former ABC chair and high-profile media identity Ita Buttrose is set to be grilled today over her role in the controversial sacking of Antoinette Lattouf as an ABC fill-in radio host.

Buttrose arrived at the court in a wheelchair mid-morning as the ABC executive who hired Lattouf, former Sydney radio boss Steve Ahern, was still giving evidence ahead of her.

Lattouf fashion show continues…

Steve Ahern may be the one facing all the questions in court… but we’ve been getting plenty of queries about Lattouf’s latest fashion statement at Federal Court.

Apparently it’s a $800 number by leading designer Rebecca Vallance, for those wondering.

According to the online listing, the Augustine Midi is ‘a sophisticated and unique satin midi dress’ that boasts long sleeves ‘fitted to the elbow [which] then flow into voluminous shapes for added drama.’

As if there wasn’t enough drama looming today as it is.

Court has resumed

Former ABC Sydney radio boss Steve Ahern is back on the stand and continuing to be grilled over the role he played in the hiring and firing of fill-in presenter Antoinette Lattouf at the public broadcaster.

Court breaks for 20 minutes… as Ita Buttrose arrives

Steve Ahern has faced a barrage of questions about whether Lattouf was really warned off posting anything about the Israel-Gaza conflict on her social media accounts.

The former ABC exec insists she was warned in the ‘late afternoon’ after completing the first of her five shifts.

The court has now adjourned for a 20-minute recess.

Outside the Federal Court, former chair Ita Battrose has arrived in a wheelchair during the break as she prepares to give evidence this afternoon.

‘I had a job to do and I did it,’ former ABC radio boss insists

The ABC executive who hired Antoinette Lattouf for a week of fill-in shifts on the public broadcaster’s Sydney radio station says he was instructed to warn her against posting ‘anything controversial about Israel and Gaza’ on her first day at work.

Steve Ahern says he was given the directive by former ABC chief content officer Chris Oliver-Taylor on Monday December 18, 2023.

He then asked ABC Radio Sydney content director Elizabeth Green whether Lattouf had been reminded to refrain from posting anything that could be seen as ‘not impartial’, and was assured that she had been.

‘I was asked by Chris Oliver-Taylor to make sure that she didn’t post anything about Israel-Gaza that was not impartial,’ he says.

‘I had a job to do and I did it.’

ABC exec believed there was ‘a perception’ Lattouf was biased ‘forming’ among her audience

Former ABC Sydney radio boss Steve Ahern says that, although he wasn’t concerned about the content Lattouf’s personal social media posts, he was worried there could be a ‘perception of bias [by Lattouf] among the audience’.

‘My concern was not necessarily about what Antoinette had written but that there was a perception forming in the audience – or in the taxpayers of Australia – that there could be a perception of bias,’ he says.

Ahern says he formed that view after receiving three complaints from the public.

‘The ABC is very alive to the perception of audiences and the taxpayers of Australia in what is does,’ he says.

Radio boss started following Lattouf on social media following complaints – but didn’t think she was biased regarding Middle East war

Ahern agreeds under questioning from Lattouf’s barrister Philip Boncardo that he started following the now sacked presenter on social media after receiving complaints about her posts.

After reviewing her account, he says he noticed she had being posting ‘views against Israel’s attack on Gaza’.

‘She expressed views that were supportive of the Palestinian cause,’ he says.

However, he admits he did not believe she was biased in relation to the conflict at that point in time.

ABC staffers must not post non-impartial views, even on their personal social media accounts: Ahern

Ahern tells the court there is an obligation for all ABC employees to refrain from making posts on their personal social media accounts that are ‘not impartial’.

Under the broadcaster’s social media policy, Ahern says such posts have the ability to damage the ABC’s reputation and credibility.

Ahern grilled on morning show ratings

Steve Ahern tells court about 600,000 listerners tune into the ABC’s Sydney radio station each day, with the peak audience tuning in between 8.30am and 9am for the weekday morning show.

He agrees hundreds of thousands of people would have been listening while Lattouf filled in as morning show host.

Former ABC Sydney radio boss Steve Ahern called to give evidence

The Antoinette Lattouf v ABC unlawful termination trial is underway in the Federal Court in Sydney.

Although Ita Buttrose will be the star witness on Tuesday, first up we will hear from former ABC Sydney radio boss Steve Ahern.

Ahern is the man who hired Lattouf to fill-in hosting the public broadcaster’s Sydney radio morning program for five days in December 2023.

She claims she was unlawfully sacked from the role after just three days.

The case so far…

Welcome to our live blog covering Antoinette Lattouf’s bombshell court case against the ABC.

It has been a week of dramatic revelations, but many eyes have been on Ms Lattouf’s fashion sense as the former journalist wowed in chic designer outfits and accessories worth thousands of dollars.

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Antoinette Lattouf vs. the ABC: Tense scenes as Ita Buttrose takes centre stage in blockbuster court case

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