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West Australian
23-05-2025
- Climate
- West Australian
Fears as Warragamba Dam nears capacity in NSW flood event
Sydneysiders are being warned to remain alert as Warragamba Dam nears capacity, after earlier fears the dam would spill following relentless rains. The capital is expected to cop an estimated 90mm of rainfall through Friday, as the system that has caused devastating - and deadly - flooding across NSW Mid North Coast and Hunter regions moves further south. More than 118mm of rain was recorded at Sydney Olympic Park in the 24 hours up to 9am on Friday, with 108mm at Belrose and 104mm in Parramatta. Warragamba Dam - which is Australia's largest concrete dam and services much of Sydney - had reached 97 per cent as of late Friday morning, with the catchment recording 55mm of rain in the 24 hours up to 9am Friday and 76.3mm in the past week. WaterNSW had warned on Thursday - while the dam was at 96 per cent - that it was at risk of overflowing and spilling by Friday afternoon or early Saturday morning. 'The exact timing and volume of a spill will depend on catchment rainfall and the resulting inflow into the dam,' a statement read. 'Under the more likely forecast scenario, the dam would begin to spill later Friday or into Saturday morning.' NSW Premier Chris Minns told ABC Radio Sydney on Friday morning that no evacuation alerts had been issued in the Hawkesbury region, though conditions could still change. 'The truth is 40 per cent of floodwaters don't come over the top of Warragamba Dam, they come through the Colo, South Creek, Nepean and other river systems on the north of that river end,' he said. The most recent update from WaterNSW, released later on Friday morning, said there was now less chance the dam would spill over. 'A spill at Warragamba Dam is now less likely after overnight rain over the catchment came in below the highest forecasts,' the statement read. 'WaterNSW will continue to monitor dam inflows and rainfall throughout the day and will keep the community updated on any expected impacts on Warragamba Dam.' The dam was predicted to overflow after NSW residents were hit with a three-day barrage of rains in June last year. The rains are not quite over yet for those in Sydney and NSW, with the Bureau of Meteorology's Dean Narramore saying on Friday morning that severe warnings had been issued for regions from the Illawarra to the Snowy Mountains. Some areas were tipped to receive six-hourly totals of up to 100mm. The SES has warned of heavy rainfall extending further south to the Southern Tablelands and inland South Coast, which will affect Bowral, Braidwood, Bega, Katoomba, Goulburn, Nerriga and Captains Flat for the rest of Friday.
ABC News
01-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Blue Mountains City Council cracks down on anti-Labor signs ahead of federal election
Electronic signs calling for voters to put Labor last on ballots at this weekend's federal election have been removed by a New South Wales council. The signs, which flashed the message "Make Australia Happy, Put Labor Last", were on public land in the Blue Mountains and were identified as being a potential distraction for drivers on the highways that run through the area. Stay updated: Catch the latest interviews and in-depth coverage on They were authorised by the leader of a micro-party in Victoria that is not running candidates at this weekend's poll. Blue Mountains City Council Mayor Mark Greenhill told "We have rules about placing political signage on public property and those rules are, simply, that you don't do it," he said. "The other issue is that some of these signs were dangerously located. " They were a distraction to drivers on the highway where we already have issues. " The signs were authorised by Freedom Party leader Morgan Jonas. ( ABC Radio Sydney: Declan Bowring ) The Labor mayor said when council rangers approached the company involved it told them the client had legal advice saying the signs could be on public land. The council asked to see evidence of the advice but said it was not produced. The council says Freedom Party leader Morgan Jonas agreed to have the signs removed. A spokesperson for Blue Mountains City Council said it was considering whether to take enforcement action. Alex Morris from the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) said the signs complied with electoral laws because they bore stickers with authorisation details. The signs had strips of tape bearing handwritten authorisation. ( ABC Radio Sydney: Declan Bowring ) 'Obscure rules' ABC Radio Sydney has seen multiple examples of authorisation handwritten on duct tape stuck on the bottom corner of the signs. The stickers were barely visible from a moving vehicle but Mr Morris said they were compliant because the law only requires the authorisation to be legible if approached by someone walking up to it. "It's one of those obscure rules in the Electoral Act," Mr Morris told ABC Radio Sydney. " I think the idea in the legislation is that someone could park and pull over, review the sign that way. " The signs were switched off after Blue Mountains City Council said they could not be on public land without permission. ( ABC Radio Sydney: Declan Bowring ) Mr Morris said regulations regarding the use of public land were a matter for councils and state governments. Similar electronic signs have been seen in the closely-fought seat of Bennelong, the Sydney's Ryde area. The City of Ryde council for comment. The Freedom Party re-registered with the Victorian Electoral Commission late last year but is not registered with the AEC. Mr Jonas was recently cautioned by the AEC for running only partially authorised signs that mostly attacked Labor candidates in multiple states. He has been contacted for comment.
The Guardian
28-02-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Lattouf v the ABC: how a five-day contract sparked a 14-month, multi-million dollar legal saga
The case of Antoinette Lattouf vs the ABC is finally done. What began as a casual fill-in gig for Lattouf – hired to be a presenter for five days in the downward run into the Christmas period in 2023 – has turned into a sprawling, million-dollar unlawful termination case splashed across every news outlet for weeks. One cannot imagine there has ever been a week-long casual presenting job at the ABC that has ever attracted this much attention or cost the national broadcaster so much. The agreed facts are these: Lattouf was hired as a fill-in presenter on ABC Radio Sydney's Mornings program in December 2023. Three days in to a five-day contract, after ABC management had received multiple coordinated complaints about Lattouf's presence on air, the ABC was alerted to a post of Lattouf's on Instagram about the war in Gaza. Lattouf was asked by management to pack her things and leave and informed that her services would not be required for the rest of the week. Why this happened, and whether the ABC broke any laws in doing what it did, is what has been at issue over nearly two weeks of this case, which concluded before the federal court in Sydney on Friday. The financial costs of it all were revealed this week when the ABC told Senate estimates it had spent $1.1m on external legal representation to defend the case. Lattouf has indicated that her legal fees approach the million-dollar mark as well, posting on Instagram that the money raised from a Go Fund Me for her legal costs 'accounts for about a quarter of the cost of this litigation'. At the time, the fundraiser had received about $180,000 in donations. But the emotional costs were also on display on Friday afternoon. At the end of proceedings, Lattouf addressed the media, speaking publicly for the first time since her case against the ABC began, her hands shaking violently. The journalist made it through several minutes of her speech before her composure cracked. 'I could not have done this alone. There were days I could barely get out of bed. The public's unwavering support kept me standing,' she said, pausing while tears came. 'From the bottom of my heart, I thank you. You gave me strength when I felt that I was drowning from the weight of this.' There was drama in the courtroom, even on the last day, as the ABC's barrister, Ian Neil SC, presented his closing arguments. Neil told Justice Darryl Rangiah that if the judge should find that the ABC had broken the law in the handling of Lattouf's employment that 'the compensation should be no more than modest', disputing her claim for compensation due to emotional distress. He conceded that the ABC's conduct towards Lattouf 'caused her distress and was a negative consequence', but said 'a reasonable person wouldn't predict that Ms Lattouf being removed from the air in the circumstances would cause her distress.' Lattouf sat through this exchange, head bowed, eyes closed, shaking her head. Oshie Fagir, Lattouf's barrister, strongly disagreed. She said on Friday that the ABC had defended the case in such an 'objectionable' way – including in the personal matters on which Lattouf was cross-examined by the ABC – that he would seek additional compensation if his client was successful. One part of Neil's closing argument had Lattouf's side of the courtroom rippling with apparently furious energy; Lattouf standing up to walk to her solicitor and whisper to him. The ABC has claimed throughout this case that Lattouf was not sacked from her role, merely asked not to present the final two shows, something Neil argued it was contractually allowed to do. He also disputed that taking Lattouf off air was meant as a sanction. 'Taking someone off air is designed to protect the ABC, not to punish the employee,' he said. 'It may be both,' suggested Rangiah. 'But in this case, it was only the first,' said Neil. 'Literally, no one ever talks about punishing her, or sanctioning her … And what is the punishment, we ask rhetorically. You don't have to do work, but you get paid for it? We always have the right to tell you not to do any work; we're telling you not to do any work. Are we punishing you? Are we disciplining you? Are we taking money off you?' Rangiah pressed him: 'So if an employee is suspended from their employment and still paid for it. That's not an adverse consequence for them?' 'It would depend on the circumstances,' said Neil. 'But here we're talking about two shifts, two programs.' Lattouf told the press pack at the conclusion of proceedings, it was never about two missed shifts. 'This case was never just about me, it was never about five days of work, it was about protecting the principles that should matter to all of us.' Rangiah has retired to deliberate, and it will probably be months before Lattouf, the ABC and the watching public, learn of his decision.
The Guardian
27-02-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Ita Buttrose's emails ‘hammering' top ABC executives instrumental in Antoinette Lattouf's sacking, court hears
Ita Buttrose's emails 'hammering' executives with complaints about Antoinette Lattouf's social media presence were influential in her sacking, the federal court has heard in closing submissions. Lattouf's barrister, Oshie Fagir, argued the former chair was one of four ABC figureheads who played a pivotal role in the removal of the casual host from air, including the formal decision-maker, Chris Oliver-Taylor, the chief content officer at the broadcaster. Fagir said Buttrose's 'attitude never wavered at any point' and her 'conduct had a material effect on the ultimate outcome'. He said Buttrose considered Lattouf an activist who should never have been hired. 'The reason that she gave for sending the emails … was to teach Mr Oliver Taylor a lesson, I'm paraphrasing, 'to make him feel some pain, because he was responsible for this untenable position'.' During her testimony, Buttrose told the court that the managing director, David Anderson, said she should forward the emails to Oliver-Taylor to teach him the 'folly' of hiring people without adequate checks. Fagir spent Thursday summing up the the applicant's argument in the unlawful termination case and Friday will see the ABC's reply. 'We say that Mr Anderson and Mr Oliver-Taylor were decision-makers in the conventional sense that they exercised authority to dismiss Ms Lattouf, and that Ms Buttrose and [audio head Ben] Latimer were decision-makers in the broader sense … being people who materially influence the decision to dismiss,' Fagir said. Fagir said Lattouf's Human Rights Watch post was a 'pretext' for moving against her and it was an 'utterly abnormal' move for Oliver-Taylor to make. 'Mr Oliver-Taylor latched on to the post as a pretext to deliver that which he knew the managing director and the chair wanted,' Fagir said. Lattouf was let go after three days into a five-day fill-in stint on ABC Radio Sydney's Mornings program when she shared the post that said Israel had used starvation as a 'weapon of war' in Gaza. As well as the pressure from Buttrose, Oliver-Taylor was subjected to Anderson 'demanding assurances that a situation like this never arises again', and there were threats of disciplinary action against the executive who hired Lattouf, Steve Ahern. 'And he uses [the Human Rights Watch post] as a pretext to deliver what he wanted and what the organisation want too,' Fagir said. Fagir argued that the ABC's reasoning, 'in relation to the direction and the potential breach of policy makes absolutely no sense'. Lattouf denies she was banned from posting on the Gaza conflict while working at the ABC. Fagir said the applicant's case is that she was sacked for her political opinion on Gaza and was given 'no direction' by the ABC not to post about the Israel-Gaza conflict. 'Ms Lattouf was removed from air … not only [because] she held and manifested particular views, but that she did so in circumstances where she herself was of Lebanese heritage. We absolutely maintain and urge the court to find that Ms Lattouf's race was a reason for her dismissal.' Under the Fair Work Act an employer may not take adverse action against an employee because of their political opinion or race. Fagir said Lattouf was hired to present a light show and 'as soon as she appears on air, she is the subject of a lobbying campaign, the purpose of which is to remove her from air'. Fagir said the court should give no heed to the evidence of Oliver-Taylor as he was a witness of 'no credit' and there was no material that supported his evidence that Lattouf was given a 'direction' not to post. Oliver-Taylor 'knew that no direction had been given to Ms Lattouf not to post anything controversial about the Israeli-Gaza conflict', Fagir said. Instead, Justice Darryl Rangiah should accept the evidence of Lattouf's line manager, Elizabeth Green, and if he did accept her evidence it is 'game over for the ABC'. Fagir said it was Green's evidence that Lattouf was not given an explicit direction not to post at all on social media about the Israel-Gaza war during her planned five-day stint on ABC radio. Fagir said the question of whether Lattouf was given a 'directive' by ABC bosses not to post on social media, which she then breached by sharing the Human Rights Watch post, or if it was merely suggested to her that she 'keep a low profile' on social media was central to the case.
The Guardian
11-02-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Ita the Imperious, Australia's media queen, swats aside questions over Lattouf sacking
First the courtiers, then the queen. After a week of testimony from a stream of ABC managers, it was time for Ita Buttrose, former chair of the ABC to take the stand. Buttrose – a doyenne of Australian media, a household name, with a voice and face familiar even to those who can name no other ABC chair – is the most-anticipated witness in the unlawful termination case brought by Antoinette Lattouf against the ABC. Buttrose's words have already featured in this case, which centres around a five-day casual presenting gig that Lattouf was given in December 2023. Lattouf was dismissed three days into the contract after posting on social media about the war in Gaza. Buttrose's emails to managing director David Anderson about Lattouf, saying she was sick of getting complaints about the journalist, and suggesting Lattouf might 'come down with flu' to get her off air, have been read aloud. Chris Oliver-Taylor, who gave hours of testimony last Friday, conceded he had felt 'pressure from above' after he started getting complaints about Lattouf forwarded directly to him from Buttrose. The 83-year-old finally arrived on Tuesday afternoon in a wheelchair and received some help from the court officer in manoeuvring between the enormous lever arch files that contained various documents, affidavits and other evidence. But any sense that the former ABC chair was anything but her pin-sharp self was shortly and witheringly dispatched. Buttrose swatted away barrister Philip Boncardo's questions of cross-examination as if he were an irritant. When asked questions, Buttrose often answered Boncardo, not with repeated answers of 'yes' but repeated dismissive answers of 'So?'. Several times she fixed him with a steely look and answered with an arch 'obviously', several times she talked over the judge, several times she talked over the ABC's own barrister as he rose to object to questions being put to her, at one point causing Ian Neil SC to hold up a hand to silence his own witness, as he sought to have the question she'd been happily answering ruled objectionable. Neil's objections weren't always needed. Buttrose, unflappable, handled some herself. 'That's a hypothetical question and I can't answer it,' she told Boncardo at one point. 'Do you want to take a stab at it?' Boncardo pressed. 'No,' she said calmly. At one point, as Boncardo took a minute to get a document from his solicitor, she muttered 'Jesus Christ' with a dramatic eye roll – under her breath, but still clearly audible to the court's microphones. On the key points, Buttrose said she did not pressure Anderson to take Lattouf off air, nor had she been swayed by the many complaints she had received about Lattouf's presence on ABC Radio Sydney. She had forwarded all the complaints onto Oliver-Taylor at the direction of Anderson (something Anderson disputes in his evidence, saying the direction had come from Buttrose herself), because Anderson wanted Oliver-Taylor 'to learn the folly of not checking the references of someone he hired'. Buttrose told the court it was 'quite apparent' that Lattouf was 'an activist' and said she thought the presenter should not have been hired. She added that as the complaints started coming in about Lattouf, Buttrose thought 'it looked like [Lattouf] was going to lose her job'. Questioned what made her think that, Buttrose said: 'Because I could see which way the wind was blowing.' Despite this Buttrose insisted she had, until the moment she heard Lattouf had been let go, expected her to remain on air for the full five days for which she was employed. 'That seemed like a perfect solution to me,' said Buttrose, who said when she heard Lattouf had been let go, she was 'surprised' and not pleased. Asked if she was happy that Lattouf had been fired, Buttrose replied: 'No one's ever happy with a dismissal of anyone. I don't know why you think that. It's the worst thing that can happen to anybody. And I'm not happy. And I wasn't happy. I didn't wish her to be removed. I didn't put pressure on anybody. It's a fantasy of your own imagination.' Asked about an email in which she wrote to Anderson: 'Has Antoinette been replaced? I am over getting emails about her', Buttrose told the court: 'I didn't want her replaced. I can't replace anybody, the chair can't do that.' But then went on to quip: 'If I wanted somebody removed I'd be franker than that.' Buttrose's sharp composure broke – for a giggle – as she addressed questions about the email she sent Anderson asking of Lattouf's employment: 'Why can't she come down with flu or Covid or a stomach upset? We owe her nothing.' Boncardo began his questioning here by asking: 'Was it your practice in 2023 to wish that ABC employees would come down with respiratory illnesses?' Buttrose laughed. 'That was just a face-saving idea. I thought it might have been an idea for Antoinette. It's an easy way to save face.' But the comment elicited a very different reaction from the other side of the room, where there was a shocked gasp from Lattouf and her supporters, who looked at each other wide-eyed and disbelieving. 'David didn't pick up on the suggestion so we didn't go ahead with the idea,' Buttrose shrugged. 'It would give her an easy exit, that's all it was.' As the case enters its seventh day in the federal court on Wednesday, there are no easy exits in sight.
