Pro-Israel group who urged ABC to sack Lattouf push for contempt case against Herald, Age
A group of pro-Israel letter-writers who complained to the ABC about Antoinette Lattouf before she was removed from Sydney radio are pushing for contempt proceedings to be initiated against The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age over an alleged breach of a suppression order.
On February 3, during Lattouf's Federal Court unlawful termination suit against the ABC, Justice Darryl Rangiah made a 10-year suppression order over the 'names, identities, contact details and addresses of persons who made complaints' about Lattouf's employment by the ABC.
The order was made 'on the ground that it is necessary to protect the safety of persons'.
Rangiah said at the time that he was satisfied there was 'a substantial risk' the individuals 'will face, at least, vilification and harassment if their identities and contact details were available to the public'. He has reserved his decision in the Lattouf case.
While the suppression order was sought by nine individuals, the order ultimately granted by Rangiah was not phrased as protecting the identity of only those nine people.
Lawyers acting for people whose identities are said to be protected by the suppression order allege the Herald and The Age – the editors of both mastheads, Bevan Shields and Patrick Elligett, as well as two in-house lawyers, two reporters and the publishing companies – breached the order.
At a preliminary hearing in the Federal Court on Wednesday, Sue Chrysanthou, SC, acting for the group, said: 'Only one order is sought, and that is a referral under … the Federal Court Rules to the principal registrar to consider whether proceedings should be instituted for the punishment of contempt.'
But Tom Blackburn, SC, acting for the mastheads, said the registrar would have no 'independent discretion not to commence contempt proceedings' if Rangiah made that order, because he would be directing the registrar to do so.
Blackburn said the allegations were of the 'utmost seriousness', and it was a particularly 'grave and serious thing' to allege that two lawyers, who are officers of the court, were involved in an alleged contempt.
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