Perth Voice Interactive

MEMBERS of the WA media and arts community will be protesting in solidarity with journalist Antoinette Lattouf over her sacking by the ABC for posting about Gaza on social media. 

Ms Lattouf was sacked in December, days after she had shared a post from Human Rights Watch regarding Israel’s war in Gaza on her Instagram story, including a caption stating the humanitarian organisation was “reporting starvation as a tool of war”.  

MEAA Members for Palestine Perth representative Maduvanthi Venkatesan says it is worrying Ms Lattouf is being “punished” as a journalist for reporting on Israel’s war in Gaza. 

“We really need to push back against this troubling culture of censorship and suppression when it comes to speaking out for Palestine,” Ms Venkatesan said. 

“Journalists shouldn’t lose their jobs or their livelihoods for speaking the truth.”

Ms Lattouf has lodged an unfair dismissal claim with the Fair Work Commission against the ABC, after she was asked to leave her fill-in position three days into a five day stint on Sydney’s Mornings radio show. 

Ms Lattouf she was told by ABC management she “failed or refused to comply with directions that she not post on social media about matters of controversy during the short period she was presenting.”

The Sydney-based journalist has sued the national broadcaster on the grounds that the termination was unlawful, and that she had been cleared to post about accurate information from a reputable source such as Human Rights Watch. 

The ABC also reported on this information using the same source.

In her claim to the Fair Work Commission, Ms Lattouf said management at the public broadcaster did not abide by its own enterprise agreement. 

According to the agreement, employees should be “advised in writing of the nature of the alleged misconduct”, which Ms Lattouf claims she was not. 

Ms Lattouf is also claiming she was stood down because of her race, as she is of Lebanese descent. The ABC has denied this claim. 

Ms Venkatesan said Ms Lattouf had “made a huge sacrifice” for speaking out about the conflict, which is why the MEAA group is protesting in solidarity. 

“As a woman of colour, and as an Arab woman, she took on a great deal of risk to do that,” she said.

“We can’t let her bare that alone.” 

Ms Venkatesan says the protest in honour of Ms Lattouf was “not just about journalism”, as it sets an example for anyone wanting to voice their political opinions outside of work. 

“It’s also equally about working people and their right to speak out against genocide, which anyone should be able to do without feeling like they’re going to be punished by their employer,” she said. 

The MEAA Members for Palestine protest in solidarity with Antoinette Lattouf was due to be held yesterday (Friday March 8) at 8am in Wellington Square, East Perth. Rallies will also be held in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Canberra on the same day.

by KATHERINE KRAAYVANGER