Ita Buttrose has made a much-anticipated appearance in the witness box at Antoinette Lattouf’s unlawful termination case against the ABC. The former chair of the public broadcaster told the federal court the journalist “was an activist” in relation to the Israel-Gaza war and for that reason should not have been hired.
Court documents show Buttrose sent six emails in rapid succession detailing complaints about Lattouf to ABC’s content chief in the hours leading up to the casual presenter’s dismissal. The broadcaster has amended its legal defence after outcry about its claims the onus was on Lattouf to prove the existence of a Lebanese, Arab or Middle Eastern race. The hearing continues.
