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The ABC breached the Fair Work Act when it terminated casual broadcaster Antoinette Lattouf for reasons including that she held a political opinion opposing the Israeli military campaign in Gaza, the federal court has found.
The court ordered that the ABC pay Lattouf compensation of $70,000 for non-economic loss and set down a date for a hearing on whether a pecuniary penalty ought to be imposed on the ABC.
In his judgment, Justice Darryl Rangiah said senior ABC managers were in a “a state of panic” after an “orchestrated campaign by pro-Israel lobbyists to have Ms Lattouf taken off air”.
The ABC managing director, Hugh Marks, apologised for the broadcaster’s handling of Lattouf’s employment and for the distress it caused her. Marks said the ABC had reviewed its personal use of social media guidelines for employees, which will be replaced with new public comment guidelines.
Top news
Zohran Mamdani leads NYC mayoral primary as Cuomo concedes: ‘He won’
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Gout Gout breaks his own 200m national record in latest stunning run
In pictures
On the Nullarbor plain, the world’s largest hydrogen export hub is being developed. Beneath it lies an internationally significant limestone cave system, a fragile home to globally unique creatures and a time capsule of life since the Pliocene including rare cave animals and a record of ancient life forms. Scientists warn the development threatens the treasures below.
What they said …
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“We didn’t just lose. We got smashed.”
In her first appearance at the National Press Club as opposition leader, Sussan Ley addressed the Liberal party’s heavy defeat at the federal election. Ley said she plans to work with every division to better represent voters as the party lays the groundwork for the next election, including preselecting more women.
In numbers
Australia’s inflation rate has eased again, down sharply on the previous month’s figure of 2.4%, bolstering expectations the Reserve Bank of Australia will lower the cash rate next month and bring further reprieve for mortgage holders.
Before bed read
Among the overwhelming quantity of information new parents must digest is the instruction to ensure their child gets adequate “tummy time” each day. Not content with letting infants have all the fun, adults have now co-opted the practice as a means of postural correction. But does it work, and can adult tummy time undo the dreaded “tech neck”?
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: THEM. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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