Lattouf wins unfair dismissal case against the ABC: What happens next?
Journalist Antoinette Lattouf has won her unfair dismissal case against the ABC.
The Federal Court found the ABC breached the Fair Work Act when it terminated Ms Lattouf for reasons including that she held a political opinion opposing the Israeli military campaign in Gaza.
Ms Lattouf was fired by the ABC after sharing a social media post from Human Rights Watch that said Israel had used starvation as a "weapon of war" in Gaza.
ABC Radio National Breakfast contacted the ABC's former chief content officer Chris Oliver Taylor, former chair of the ABC Ita Buttrose, the current chair Kim Williams, and the current Managing Director Hugh Marks to join us on the program. All have declined.
The program is yet to receive a response from former Managing Director David Anderson and Director of ABC Audio Ben Latimer.
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News.com.au
38 minutes ago
- News.com.au
‘Not much of a future': Over 3000 Tuvaluans set to migrate to Australia
Nearly one-third of citizens in the Pacific nation of Tuvalu are seeking a landmark climate visa to live in Australia, as rising seas threaten their palm-fringed shores, official figures obtained by AFP show. Australia is offering visas to 280 Tuvalu citizens each year under a climate migration deal Canberra has billed as 'the first agreement of its kind anywhere in the world'. More than 3,000 Tuvaluans have already entered a ballot for the first batch of visas, according to official figures on the Australian program, which accounts for almost a full third of the nation's population. One of the most climate-threatened regions of the planet, scientists fear that Tuvalu will become uninhabitable within the next 80 years. Two of the archipelago's nine coral atolls have already largely disappeared under the waves. 'Australia recognises the devastating impact climate change is having on the livelihoods, security, and wellbeing of climate vulnerable countries and people, particularly in the Pacific region,' Australia's foreign affairs department told AFP. Australia and Tuvalu inked the groundbreaking Falepili Union in 2024, part of Canberra's efforts to blunt China's expanding reach in the region. Under that pact, Australia opened a new visa category specially set aside for adult citizens of Tuvalu. Already, there are signs the program will be hugely oversubscribed. Official data on the program shows 3,125 Tuvaluans entered the random ballot within four days of it opening last week. 'This is the first agreement of its kind anywhere in the world, providing a pathway for mobility with dignity as climate impacts worsen,' a spokesperson for Australia's foreign affairs department said. Tuvalu is home to 10,643 people, according to census figures collected in 2022. Registration costs Aus$25 (US$16), with the ballot closing on July 18. Not 'much of a future' The visa program has been hailed as a landmark response to the looming challenge of climate-forced migration. 'At the same time, it will provide Tuvaluans the choice to live, study and work in Australia,' Australia's foreign affairs department said. But they have also fanned fears that nations like Tuvalu could be rapidly drained of skilled professionals and young talent. University of Sydney geographer John Connell warned that a long-term exodus of workers could imperil Tuvalu's future. 'Small states do not have many jobs and some activities don't need that many people,' he told AFP. 'Atolls don't offer much of a future: agriculture is hard, fisheries offer wonderful potential but it doesn't generate employment,' he added. The Falepili pact commits Australia to defending Tuvalu in the face of natural disasters, health pandemics and 'military aggression'. 'For the first time, there is a country that has committed legally to come to the aid of Tuvalu, upon request, when Tuvalu encounters a major natural disaster, a health pandemic or military aggression,' Tuvalu Prime Minister Feleti Teo said at the time. 'Again, for the first time there is a country that has committed legally to recognise the future statehood and sovereignty of Tuvalu despite the detrimental impact of climate changed-induced sea level rise.' The agreement also offers Australia a say in any other defence pacts Tuvalu signs with other countries, raising concerns at the time that the Pacific nation was handing over its sovereignty. Tuvalu is one of just 12 states that still have formal diplomatic relations with Taipei rather than Beijing. Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said last year his country shared a vision for a 'peaceful, stable, prosperous and unified region'. 'It shows our Pacific partners that they can rely on Australia as a trusted and genuine partner.'
Sky News AU
40 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
Top strategic analyst says US-Australia alliance ‘in its worst shape' after government explored legality of Iran Strikes
The US-Australia alliance is in a critical condition, according to a leading strategic analyst after Finance Minister Katy Gallagher let slip the federal government had ordered legal advice into President Trump's strikes on Iranian nuclear hubs. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was slammed for his belated support of US President Donald Trump's coordinated strikes against three significant Iranian nuclear facilities. Mr Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong fronted the media on Monday morning more than 24 hours after the attack, saying they backed the US' strikes but stressed they did not want to see the regional conflict escalate into all-out war. However, in a major development to the saga, Finance Minister and close confidant of the Prime Minister Katy Gallagher revealed on Thursday that the government had ordered advice on whether the US' strikes against Iranian nuclear sites were legal. 'Look, obviously advice has been sought by – I mean, in government, as we are working through some of these issues, we get a whole lot of advice across the government,' Senator Gallagher said on ABC RN. When questioned if acquiring legal advice reflected thinking within the government that the US' strikes were illegal under international law, Ms Gallagher said that it was a routine formality. 'Well, we receive – for example, when the NSC (National Security Committee) meets, we get a whole lot of advice from across government about a whole range of things, and we don't really go into those matters publicly.' Peter Jennings, one of the county's most eminent strategic analysts said the Albanese government seeking legal advice on the matter was 'not the act of a friendly ally' and stated he was 'surprised that they need to ask a question at all.' 'I think it's very clear that America was launching these strikes in defence of Israel and in defence of America itself, and they were attacking a regime which has literally since 1979 been calling for death to America and death to Israel,' Mr Jennings said. Mr Jennings, who served as executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute from 2012-22 said that by focussing on the legality of the strike the government was 'wilfully blind to the realities of what's going on in the Middle East right now' He outlined the move would be considered extremely provocative by US officials and would 'do serious damage to Australia's position in DC.' Ms Gallagher refused to share the nature or outcome of the advice and insisted that the government endorsed the US' strikes against Iran. 'I'm not going to go into the advice the government receives, but I can be clear, and I think ministers who have appeared on your program and the PM and the Foreign Minister have been very clear that we support the strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities,' she said. Mr Jennings said the emerging rift between the two countries was extremely concerning and stated 'the alliance is in its worst shape since the Whitlam/Nixon period which was more than 50 years ago.' 'One wonders then if they are trying to find a reason to distance themselves from the American strikes, because frankly you can create legal advice which will support the strikes, or also that says the strikes were illegal,' Mr Jennings said. 'This was an unnecessary step, something that the government could easily have supported on the basis of Iran's nuclear program and its international support of terrorism.' 'I just think it just shows that they're not trying to be an ally, they're trying to be a critic, and this is just not going to work with the Trump administration.' Mr Albanese, unlike British PM Keir Starmer, was not notified of the US' attacks on Iran before they were carried out, with the Prime Minister confirming he had not spoken to the US President after he abruptly left the G7 summit in Canada a day before the two were due to meet.
Daily Telegraph
44 minutes ago
- Daily Telegraph
Russia's unconvincing ploy to virtue signal during the Middle East crisis
Don't miss out on the headlines from World. Followed categories will be added to My News. As the world fixated on the sudden eruption of hostilities between Israel and Iran, a quieter, more calculating player loomed just offstage. Analysts have warned about how the Kremlin has leveraged chaos in the past for its own benefit. But Russia's elites played their same old tune as missiles flew over the Middle East this week. In the span of just a few days, what began as tit-for-tat missile exchanges between Israel and Iran escalated into what alarmists dubbed 'WWIII'. It was a solid gold opportunity for the Kremlin to divert global attention from its own misdeeds, while also posturing as a so-called peacemaker. The United States, despite initial hesitations, was eventually drawn into the fray to assist in defending Israeli airspace and then de-escalate the situation 'diplomatically' with a devastating B-2 stealth bomber assault. But in the background, Vladimir Putin quietly worked a different angle. Russia jumped at the opportunity to pose as the adult in the room and appear 'above the fray' — all while exploiting the fog of war to reduce public focus on Ukraine and test the boundaries of US restraint. This is the opinion of Dr Ivana Stradner, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, who claims Russia 'never misses an opportunity to exploit a crisis'. 'Russia benefits from the situation in the Middle East to divert [the] West's attention from Ukraine,' Dr Stradner told That strategy came into sharp focus as the Kremlin loudly condemned Israeli strikes, all while continuing its relentless three-and-a-half-year assault on sovereign Ukraine. Moscow then boldly positioned itself as a mediator in the conflict, using the UN as its springboard. The crisis was a juicy opportunity for the Kremlin to appear as the adult in the room. (Photo by Menahem Kahana / AFP) 'The Kremlin is trying to portray itself as a reasonable voice that wants to stop 'WWIII' and act as a pillar of stability in the Middle East,' Dr Stradner continued. 'Moscow is also using the UN to flex its diplomatic muscles, as Russia has a veto there. 'Ironically, Putin has also offered to mediate the conflict, but he is neither willing nor able to be an effective mediator. Putin wants to pander to President Trump to strengthen his position in negotiations on Ukraine and to portray himself as a reliable partner to Washington.' While the deception might fall flat among those keenly aware of Russia's advanced misinformation tactics, the Kremlin's propaganda train chugs on, hoping to win the hearts of those undecided on who to trust in the twisted theatre of world politics. But even more telling is what Russia didn't do. Despite its longstanding security relationship with Iran, which includes the presence of Russian technicians at Iranian nuclear sites, Moscow made no military moves to support Tehran directly. Instead, as Dr Stradner points out, 'Russia already abandoned its allies Armenia and Syria, and now Iran. The West should remind Putin's allies across the world that with friends like Putin, they do not need enemies.' 'Russia never misses an opportunity to exploit crisis'.(Photo by Vyacheslav PROKOFYEV / POOL / AFP) Trump fires up at 'N-word' Whilecertain Russian assets were virtue signalling, others were jumping on the opportunity to put a fright up the West. Former President and Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev ominously warned that Iran could just source their nuclear weapons from allies. 'A number of countries are ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads,' Medvedev wrote on X. Those comments riled up Donald Trump, who accused Medvedev of playing with the 'N-word' a little too haphazardly. 'Did I hear Former President Medvedev, from Russia, casually throwing around the 'N word' (Nuclear!), and saying that he and other Countries would supply Nuclear Warheads to Iran?' Trump wrote on Truth Social. 'The 'N word' should not be treated so casually. I guess that's why Putin's 'THE BOSS.'' But Dr Stradner says it's all hot air. Former President and Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev threw the 'N-word' around a bit last week. (Photo) 'Medvedev's words are a textbook case of reflexive control,' she explained, referring to Russia's longstanding strategy of seeding confusion and fear to paralyse decision-making. 'For Putin, nuclear weapons are cognitive weapons.' Dr Stradner stressed that the Trump administration and Western powerbrokers must avoid reacting to intentionally inflammatory tactics. 'Nobody should take Medvedev's words seriously,' she said. 'It is pure propaganda.' Russia's nuclear chest-beating has become a predictable tool to distract, distort, and deter. It may not intend to launch missiles, but it absolutely intends to shape how others behave through the threat of escalation. Alliances tested but not broken While many view the Russia-Iran relationship as purely strategic, Dr Stradner sees a deeper ideological connection forming between the two nations. 'They are like friends with benefits,' she said. 'They have different interests in Central Asia, but they have a mutual enemy: the United States, and that's their bond.' More than just co-operation on drones or ballistic missiles, the partnership reflects a shared desire to bypass Western-led institutions and promote a traditionalist, anti-liberal order. 'There is an ideological alliance defending traditionalist, religious, and anti-liberal values,' Dr Stradner noted. While put under heavy strain this week, Russia's alliances with anti-West nations are growing. While put under heavy strain this week, Russia's alliances with anti-West nations are growing. (Photo by / AFP) Russian nationalists have advocated for an 'Axis of Aggressors' that includes Iran, China, and North Korea, connected through projects like the International North-South Transport Corridor, an initiative that would provide a logistics lifeline to sidestep Western trade routes. Then there's the BRICS alliance, consisting of major superpowers like China, India and Russia. Mr Putin riled up the Mr Trump camp late last year at a BRICS summit in Moscow, calling for a 'multipolar world order' in front of 20 leaders from powerful allied nations. They had gathered in the Russian capital to discuss sweeping plans, including the development of a BRICS-led international payment system. Russia has touted the platform as an attractive alternative to Western-led international organisations like the G7. 'The process of forming a multipolar world order is underway, a dynamic and irreversible process,' Mr Putin said at the official opening of the summit. Originally published as Russia's ploy to virtue signal during the Middle East crisis is dripping with irony
