What will ABC have to pay? Federal Court to determine penalties for Lattouf sacking
The ABC will be back in court on Wednesday as the Federal Court determines how much it should pay in the form of penalties. The potential penalties come in the wake of the national broadcaster’s loss in the Federal Court in June, where the court found the ABC had unlawfully sacked Antoinette Lattouf for reasons including her political opinion.
Lattouf’s legal team is arguing the ABC should pay “hundreds of thousands of dollars” for its “various contraventions of the law”, while the ABC is seeking a lower amount, reportedly between $37,000 and $56,000.
Lattouf (left) with her new business partner Jan Fran
Lattouf herself said “a penalty hearing isn’t just about punishment, it’s about deterrence”.
“The Court seeks to send a broad message that breaking workplace laws won’t come cheap, while also making sure the offender doesn’t shrug it off as just another business expense,” she said.
“It’s not only about what happened in the past, but about stopping the same mistakes from happening again.”
The ABC has already been widely criticised for the $1 million-plus it spent defending the case, which it ultimately lost.
Current managing director, Hugh Marks – who was not at the organisation at the time of the sacking – has subsequently admitted the national broadcaster’s spending on the case was not “a good use of taxpayers’ money”.
Hugh Marks
“Let’s face it, as it’s been reported, many millions of dollars have been spent that shouldn’t have been spent,” he told the ABC News Channel.
In the initial ruling, Justice Rangiah awarded Lattouf $70,000 for the significant distress the sacking and its fallout caused. He also flagged that “the matter [will] be set down for a hearing to determine the question of whether the ABC should be ordered to pay any pecuniary penalty and, if so, in what amount, on a date to be fixed”. That date is now this Wednesday, 3 September.
In recent months, Lattouf has launched Ette Media alongside Jan Fran, and announced a forthcoming book titled Women Who Win. The ABC, meanwhile, has recently introduced new public comment guidelines for staff.
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