Latest news with #ABCSydney
Sydney Morning Herald
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Smooth FM rolls 2GB to take No.1 Sydney radio spot as ABC struggles
Smooth FM is now Sydney's No.1 radio station, overtaking 2GB* in the fourth ratings survey of the year. The music-based network attracted 12.3 per cent of the available audience – just 0.1 percentage point lower than its previous result – while 2GB suffered the greatest loss of any broadcaster, falling 2 points to 11.6 per cent. Although Kiis remains in third place, it enjoyed the biggest increase during the 10-week survey period, climbing 1.1 points to an audience share of 10.4 per cent. Classic hits station Gold ranked fourth, followed by Nova, ABC Sydney, Triple M and 2Day FM. It is important to note that survey time slots do not always correspond precisely with program time slots. ABC Sydney continues to struggle, posting losses in every time slot except evenings. Overall, the station fell 0.5 points to an audience share of 5.7 per cent, while ABC Classic declined by the same amount to 2.5 per cent. But there was better news for ABC's other stations, with Triple J (3.9 per cent), NewsRadio (1.6 per cent) and Radio National (1.2 per cent) all posting moderate gains. Loading In the lucrative breakfast slot, 2GB's Ben Fordham retains his crown with a 14.7 per cent share, followed by Kiis' Kyle and Jackie O program on 13.9 per cent and Smooth's Bogart Torelli on 9.2 per cent. Gold's Jonesy & Amanda program – which is rumoured to be moving to the drive slot, to make way for a networked version of the Melbourne-based Christian O'Connell Show – earned a 9 per cent audience share, while ABC Sydney's Craig Reucassel claimed 8 per cent. In mornings, ABC Sydney's Hamish Macdonald fell to eighth position with a share of 4.6 per cent. He replaced previous host Sarah Macdonald (no relation), whose axing late last year sparked a backlash from loyal listeners.
The Age
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Smooth FM rolls 2GB to take No.1 Sydney radio spot as ABC struggles
Smooth FM is now Sydney's No.1 radio station, overtaking 2GB* in the fourth ratings survey of the year. The music-based network attracted 12.3 per cent of the available audience – just 0.1 percentage point lower than its previous result – while 2GB suffered the greatest loss of any broadcaster, falling 2 points to 11.6 per cent. Although Kiis remains in third place, it enjoyed the biggest increase during the 10-week survey period, climbing 1.1 points to an audience share of 10.4 per cent. Classic hits station Gold ranked fourth, followed by Nova, ABC Sydney, Triple M and 2Day FM. It is important to note that survey time slots do not always correspond precisely with program time slots. ABC Sydney continues to struggle, posting losses in every time slot except evenings. Overall, the station fell 0.5 points to an audience share of 5.7 per cent, while ABC Classic declined by the same amount to 2.5 per cent. But there was better news for ABC's other stations, with Triple J (3.9 per cent), NewsRadio (1.6 per cent) and Radio National (1.2 per cent) all posting moderate gains. Loading In the lucrative breakfast slot, 2GB's Ben Fordham retains his crown with a 14.7 per cent share, followed by Kiis' Kyle and Jackie O program on 13.9 per cent and Smooth's Bogart Torelli on 9.2 per cent. Gold's Jonesy & Amanda program – which is rumoured to be moving to the drive slot, to make way for a networked version of the Melbourne-based Christian O'Connell Show – earned a 9 per cent audience share, while ABC Sydney's Craig Reucassel claimed 8 per cent. In mornings, ABC Sydney's Hamish Macdonald fell to eighth position with a share of 4.6 per cent. He replaced previous host Sarah Macdonald (no relation), whose axing late last year sparked a backlash from loyal listeners.
Canberra Times
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Canberra Times
I have marital advice for our anti-Semitism envoy
I mean, Lawyers for Israel already did that. It campaigned hard against Antoinette Lattouf's brief appearance on ABC Sydney. It led to Lattouf losing her gig. It led to the ABC losing $2 million in fighting a futile court case. And I'll tell you what else it led to. It led, in my view, to people using the phrase "Jewish lobby", one of the most ill-conceived and racist phrases ever. I would not for one minute complain about social media posts sharing Human Rights Watch information. And there are many Jews here and elsewhere who rightly criticise the use by Israel of starvation as a weapon of war. The prospect of you trying to censor what the ABC broadcasts is so horrific. We don't need more censors in this country. We don't need lobby groups like Lawyers for Israel trying to silence those with valid opinions LIA doesn't like. Or you don't like.
The Advertiser
25-06-2025
- Politics
- The Advertiser
How does running a bitter, personal campaign get anyone to a better place?
More than 2000 people watched the livestream of the Lattouf judgement on Wednesday morning. But really it wasn't a judgement on the journalist Antoinette Lattouf. It was a judgement on the chaotic decision-making and processes at the ABC. This is what pressure does to you. Justice Darryl Rangiah ruled in favour of Lattouf. He said the ABC had breached the Fair Work Act when it said she wasn't required for the last two days of her gig 18 months ago. It contravened the bits of the Fair Work ACT which say you can't terminate someone for expressing a political opinion. The ABC also contravened its own enterprise agreement. She was awarded $70,000 but I bet there will be more to come. Josh Bornstein, one of her lawyers, said outside the court that there were multiple contraventions of the Fair Work Act. "We will be seeking significant penalties because we're concerned to ensure that this never happens again." Pretty much everyone whose fingerprints appeared on this case is gone. The former chair of the ABC Ita Buttrose, gone (yeah, it's true she was going anyway but this didn't help her leave with armsful of garlands and bouquets). The former managing director of the ABC David Anderson, gone. The former chief content officer of the ABC Chris Oliver-Taylor gone. Former manager ABC Sydney Steve Ahern gone. Former acting manager of ABC Sydney, Elizabeth Green, is now back to being a producer, and I'm hoping she's enjoying a quieter life. The only person left is Ben Latimer, director of audio. All of these people are mentioned in the judgment. All of these people are mentioned in the judgement. Let me remind you what happened. Antoinette Lattouf had the honour of presenting mornings on ABC Sydney for five days while host Sarah Macdonald was on leave. Anyone with any brains would (should) have known that Lattouf (like many of the rest of us) was concerned about what was happening in Gaza. I'm Jewish and I'm concerned about what's happening in Gaza. The Israeli government is systematically destroying that tiny slip of land. It is starving the inhabitants. Lattouf shared a post by Human Rights Watch and all hell broke loose. Unfortunately, when you hold and express those views, the Zionist lobby loses its mind. On many occasions, it also conducts a campaign against those who express those views. Let me just say this. It is hard to divorce yourself from wanting Israel to survive in its current form. This is the place where Jews found sanctuary. But campaigning in a bitter and personal way against those who hold contrary views is wrong. It doesn't help us all get to a better place. That campaigning is exactly what happened to Lattouf. And that's exactly why the ABC fell to bits, ignored various parts of the Fair Work Act and ended up making more trouble than the whole sorry scenario was worth in the first place. When you hire people, you hire the whole person. It would be very surprising to me if no one at the ABC knew that Lattouf supported Palestine. What was she supposed to do? It's not like she was suddenly not going to be Antoinette Lattouf. Plus, how embarrassing the ABC acted in haste because of a story being researched for a Murdoch publication. What was the result? Getting rid of a person because of a story which would be read by a handful of people. The judge said this: "The consternation of senior managers of the ABC turned into what can be described as a state of panic." That ended up with Lattouf pretty much being sent off. I do genuinely love the way Hugh Marks responded to the judgement: "This matter has caused concerns to be expressed about the ABC's independence and integrity, which are critical to the great trust the Australian public places in us. Any undue influence or pressure on ABC management or any of its employees must always be guarded against." 100 per cent this. It is so hard to write about difficult things. What happened in Israel on October 7, 2023, was appalling. What has happened in Gaza since October 8 is appalling. Is it equivalent? 1200 people were murdered on October 7. So far, at least 60,000 have been killed in Gaza. It is a catastrophe and now the entire world is embroiled. As I've written elsewhere when reviewing Peter Beinart's brilliant book, Being Jewish after the Destruction of Gaza, "This human suffering is immeasurable - and it has had a dramatic effect on the Jewish community across the world, tearing friends and family apart. Can you be a community that for centuries has experienced persecution and victimhood but turns away when asked to account for violence in your name?" Zionist Jews do not seem willing to accept that what's happening in Gaza is wrong. And Lattouf is not the only person who's been a victim of a lobby group absolutely determined to silence any opposition to the behaviour of Israel. Barely a week ago, the ABC's flagship current affairs program 7.30, aired an interview with Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel. The ABC's Ombudsman's Office received 30 complaints, 27 of which alleged that the interviewer had an anti-Israel bias. The reasons? According to the letters, the interviewer repeatedly interrupted the interviewee, challenged Haskel's answers and didn't include relevant context about Iran's nuclear program and human rights abuses. What of the other three complainants? READ MORE JENNA PRICE: They were concerned that Haskel was being interviewed at all because it provided a platform for her "offensive and incorrect claims by her, in particular that there is no starvation in Gaza". Are we meant to be entering an era of journalism where we don't challenge whatever comes out of someone's mouth? I am sorry that Hugh Martin, the ABC's deputy ombudsman, has had to deal with this rubbish (and I'm sure it's a tiny fraction of what happened about Antoinette Lattouf). Impartial does not mean brain dead. It doesn't mean sitting there and accepting whatever is said. Sometimes, interrupting is the only way forward, the only way of injecting facts into the discussion. The Lattouf case is just one example of this kind of silencing behaviour and we must not, none of us, stand for it. As Matthew Ricketson, professor of journalism at Deakin University, says: "As long as the ABC and politicians in general keep treating news as if it has a great deal of power then nothing will change." More than 2000 people watched the livestream of the Lattouf judgement on Wednesday morning. But really it wasn't a judgement on the journalist Antoinette Lattouf. It was a judgement on the chaotic decision-making and processes at the ABC. This is what pressure does to you. Justice Darryl Rangiah ruled in favour of Lattouf. He said the ABC had breached the Fair Work Act when it said she wasn't required for the last two days of her gig 18 months ago. It contravened the bits of the Fair Work ACT which say you can't terminate someone for expressing a political opinion. The ABC also contravened its own enterprise agreement. She was awarded $70,000 but I bet there will be more to come. Josh Bornstein, one of her lawyers, said outside the court that there were multiple contraventions of the Fair Work Act. "We will be seeking significant penalties because we're concerned to ensure that this never happens again." Pretty much everyone whose fingerprints appeared on this case is gone. The former chair of the ABC Ita Buttrose, gone (yeah, it's true she was going anyway but this didn't help her leave with armsful of garlands and bouquets). The former managing director of the ABC David Anderson, gone. The former chief content officer of the ABC Chris Oliver-Taylor gone. Former manager ABC Sydney Steve Ahern gone. Former acting manager of ABC Sydney, Elizabeth Green, is now back to being a producer, and I'm hoping she's enjoying a quieter life. The only person left is Ben Latimer, director of audio. All of these people are mentioned in the judgment. All of these people are mentioned in the judgement. Let me remind you what happened. Antoinette Lattouf had the honour of presenting mornings on ABC Sydney for five days while host Sarah Macdonald was on leave. Anyone with any brains would (should) have known that Lattouf (like many of the rest of us) was concerned about what was happening in Gaza. I'm Jewish and I'm concerned about what's happening in Gaza. The Israeli government is systematically destroying that tiny slip of land. It is starving the inhabitants. Lattouf shared a post by Human Rights Watch and all hell broke loose. Unfortunately, when you hold and express those views, the Zionist lobby loses its mind. On many occasions, it also conducts a campaign against those who express those views. Let me just say this. It is hard to divorce yourself from wanting Israel to survive in its current form. This is the place where Jews found sanctuary. But campaigning in a bitter and personal way against those who hold contrary views is wrong. It doesn't help us all get to a better place. That campaigning is exactly what happened to Lattouf. And that's exactly why the ABC fell to bits, ignored various parts of the Fair Work Act and ended up making more trouble than the whole sorry scenario was worth in the first place. When you hire people, you hire the whole person. It would be very surprising to me if no one at the ABC knew that Lattouf supported Palestine. What was she supposed to do? It's not like she was suddenly not going to be Antoinette Lattouf. Plus, how embarrassing the ABC acted in haste because of a story being researched for a Murdoch publication. What was the result? Getting rid of a person because of a story which would be read by a handful of people. The judge said this: "The consternation of senior managers of the ABC turned into what can be described as a state of panic." That ended up with Lattouf pretty much being sent off. I do genuinely love the way Hugh Marks responded to the judgement: "This matter has caused concerns to be expressed about the ABC's independence and integrity, which are critical to the great trust the Australian public places in us. Any undue influence or pressure on ABC management or any of its employees must always be guarded against." 100 per cent this. It is so hard to write about difficult things. What happened in Israel on October 7, 2023, was appalling. What has happened in Gaza since October 8 is appalling. Is it equivalent? 1200 people were murdered on October 7. So far, at least 60,000 have been killed in Gaza. It is a catastrophe and now the entire world is embroiled. As I've written elsewhere when reviewing Peter Beinart's brilliant book, Being Jewish after the Destruction of Gaza, "This human suffering is immeasurable - and it has had a dramatic effect on the Jewish community across the world, tearing friends and family apart. Can you be a community that for centuries has experienced persecution and victimhood but turns away when asked to account for violence in your name?" Zionist Jews do not seem willing to accept that what's happening in Gaza is wrong. And Lattouf is not the only person who's been a victim of a lobby group absolutely determined to silence any opposition to the behaviour of Israel. Barely a week ago, the ABC's flagship current affairs program 7.30, aired an interview with Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel. The ABC's Ombudsman's Office received 30 complaints, 27 of which alleged that the interviewer had an anti-Israel bias. The reasons? According to the letters, the interviewer repeatedly interrupted the interviewee, challenged Haskel's answers and didn't include relevant context about Iran's nuclear program and human rights abuses. What of the other three complainants? READ MORE JENNA PRICE: They were concerned that Haskel was being interviewed at all because it provided a platform for her "offensive and incorrect claims by her, in particular that there is no starvation in Gaza". Are we meant to be entering an era of journalism where we don't challenge whatever comes out of someone's mouth? I am sorry that Hugh Martin, the ABC's deputy ombudsman, has had to deal with this rubbish (and I'm sure it's a tiny fraction of what happened about Antoinette Lattouf). Impartial does not mean brain dead. It doesn't mean sitting there and accepting whatever is said. Sometimes, interrupting is the only way forward, the only way of injecting facts into the discussion. The Lattouf case is just one example of this kind of silencing behaviour and we must not, none of us, stand for it. As Matthew Ricketson, professor of journalism at Deakin University, says: "As long as the ABC and politicians in general keep treating news as if it has a great deal of power then nothing will change." More than 2000 people watched the livestream of the Lattouf judgement on Wednesday morning. But really it wasn't a judgement on the journalist Antoinette Lattouf. It was a judgement on the chaotic decision-making and processes at the ABC. This is what pressure does to you. Justice Darryl Rangiah ruled in favour of Lattouf. He said the ABC had breached the Fair Work Act when it said she wasn't required for the last two days of her gig 18 months ago. It contravened the bits of the Fair Work ACT which say you can't terminate someone for expressing a political opinion. The ABC also contravened its own enterprise agreement. She was awarded $70,000 but I bet there will be more to come. Josh Bornstein, one of her lawyers, said outside the court that there were multiple contraventions of the Fair Work Act. "We will be seeking significant penalties because we're concerned to ensure that this never happens again." Pretty much everyone whose fingerprints appeared on this case is gone. The former chair of the ABC Ita Buttrose, gone (yeah, it's true she was going anyway but this didn't help her leave with armsful of garlands and bouquets). The former managing director of the ABC David Anderson, gone. The former chief content officer of the ABC Chris Oliver-Taylor gone. Former manager ABC Sydney Steve Ahern gone. Former acting manager of ABC Sydney, Elizabeth Green, is now back to being a producer, and I'm hoping she's enjoying a quieter life. The only person left is Ben Latimer, director of audio. All of these people are mentioned in the judgment. All of these people are mentioned in the judgement. Let me remind you what happened. Antoinette Lattouf had the honour of presenting mornings on ABC Sydney for five days while host Sarah Macdonald was on leave. Anyone with any brains would (should) have known that Lattouf (like many of the rest of us) was concerned about what was happening in Gaza. I'm Jewish and I'm concerned about what's happening in Gaza. The Israeli government is systematically destroying that tiny slip of land. It is starving the inhabitants. Lattouf shared a post by Human Rights Watch and all hell broke loose. Unfortunately, when you hold and express those views, the Zionist lobby loses its mind. On many occasions, it also conducts a campaign against those who express those views. Let me just say this. It is hard to divorce yourself from wanting Israel to survive in its current form. This is the place where Jews found sanctuary. But campaigning in a bitter and personal way against those who hold contrary views is wrong. It doesn't help us all get to a better place. That campaigning is exactly what happened to Lattouf. And that's exactly why the ABC fell to bits, ignored various parts of the Fair Work Act and ended up making more trouble than the whole sorry scenario was worth in the first place. When you hire people, you hire the whole person. It would be very surprising to me if no one at the ABC knew that Lattouf supported Palestine. What was she supposed to do? It's not like she was suddenly not going to be Antoinette Lattouf. Plus, how embarrassing the ABC acted in haste because of a story being researched for a Murdoch publication. What was the result? Getting rid of a person because of a story which would be read by a handful of people. The judge said this: "The consternation of senior managers of the ABC turned into what can be described as a state of panic." That ended up with Lattouf pretty much being sent off. I do genuinely love the way Hugh Marks responded to the judgement: "This matter has caused concerns to be expressed about the ABC's independence and integrity, which are critical to the great trust the Australian public places in us. Any undue influence or pressure on ABC management or any of its employees must always be guarded against." 100 per cent this. It is so hard to write about difficult things. What happened in Israel on October 7, 2023, was appalling. What has happened in Gaza since October 8 is appalling. Is it equivalent? 1200 people were murdered on October 7. So far, at least 60,000 have been killed in Gaza. It is a catastrophe and now the entire world is embroiled. As I've written elsewhere when reviewing Peter Beinart's brilliant book, Being Jewish after the Destruction of Gaza, "This human suffering is immeasurable - and it has had a dramatic effect on the Jewish community across the world, tearing friends and family apart. Can you be a community that for centuries has experienced persecution and victimhood but turns away when asked to account for violence in your name?" Zionist Jews do not seem willing to accept that what's happening in Gaza is wrong. And Lattouf is not the only person who's been a victim of a lobby group absolutely determined to silence any opposition to the behaviour of Israel. Barely a week ago, the ABC's flagship current affairs program 7.30, aired an interview with Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel. The ABC's Ombudsman's Office received 30 complaints, 27 of which alleged that the interviewer had an anti-Israel bias. The reasons? According to the letters, the interviewer repeatedly interrupted the interviewee, challenged Haskel's answers and didn't include relevant context about Iran's nuclear program and human rights abuses. What of the other three complainants? READ MORE JENNA PRICE: They were concerned that Haskel was being interviewed at all because it provided a platform for her "offensive and incorrect claims by her, in particular that there is no starvation in Gaza". Are we meant to be entering an era of journalism where we don't challenge whatever comes out of someone's mouth? I am sorry that Hugh Martin, the ABC's deputy ombudsman, has had to deal with this rubbish (and I'm sure it's a tiny fraction of what happened about Antoinette Lattouf). Impartial does not mean brain dead. It doesn't mean sitting there and accepting whatever is said. Sometimes, interrupting is the only way forward, the only way of injecting facts into the discussion. The Lattouf case is just one example of this kind of silencing behaviour and we must not, none of us, stand for it. As Matthew Ricketson, professor of journalism at Deakin University, says: "As long as the ABC and politicians in general keep treating news as if it has a great deal of power then nothing will change." More than 2000 people watched the livestream of the Lattouf judgement on Wednesday morning. But really it wasn't a judgement on the journalist Antoinette Lattouf. It was a judgement on the chaotic decision-making and processes at the ABC. This is what pressure does to you. Justice Darryl Rangiah ruled in favour of Lattouf. He said the ABC had breached the Fair Work Act when it said she wasn't required for the last two days of her gig 18 months ago. It contravened the bits of the Fair Work ACT which say you can't terminate someone for expressing a political opinion. The ABC also contravened its own enterprise agreement. She was awarded $70,000 but I bet there will be more to come. Josh Bornstein, one of her lawyers, said outside the court that there were multiple contraventions of the Fair Work Act. "We will be seeking significant penalties because we're concerned to ensure that this never happens again." Pretty much everyone whose fingerprints appeared on this case is gone. The former chair of the ABC Ita Buttrose, gone (yeah, it's true she was going anyway but this didn't help her leave with armsful of garlands and bouquets). The former managing director of the ABC David Anderson, gone. The former chief content officer of the ABC Chris Oliver-Taylor gone. Former manager ABC Sydney Steve Ahern gone. Former acting manager of ABC Sydney, Elizabeth Green, is now back to being a producer, and I'm hoping she's enjoying a quieter life. The only person left is Ben Latimer, director of audio. All of these people are mentioned in the judgment. All of these people are mentioned in the judgement. Let me remind you what happened. Antoinette Lattouf had the honour of presenting mornings on ABC Sydney for five days while host Sarah Macdonald was on leave. Anyone with any brains would (should) have known that Lattouf (like many of the rest of us) was concerned about what was happening in Gaza. I'm Jewish and I'm concerned about what's happening in Gaza. The Israeli government is systematically destroying that tiny slip of land. It is starving the inhabitants. Lattouf shared a post by Human Rights Watch and all hell broke loose. Unfortunately, when you hold and express those views, the Zionist lobby loses its mind. On many occasions, it also conducts a campaign against those who express those views. Let me just say this. It is hard to divorce yourself from wanting Israel to survive in its current form. This is the place where Jews found sanctuary. But campaigning in a bitter and personal way against those who hold contrary views is wrong. It doesn't help us all get to a better place. That campaigning is exactly what happened to Lattouf. And that's exactly why the ABC fell to bits, ignored various parts of the Fair Work Act and ended up making more trouble than the whole sorry scenario was worth in the first place. When you hire people, you hire the whole person. It would be very surprising to me if no one at the ABC knew that Lattouf supported Palestine. What was she supposed to do? It's not like she was suddenly not going to be Antoinette Lattouf. Plus, how embarrassing the ABC acted in haste because of a story being researched for a Murdoch publication. What was the result? Getting rid of a person because of a story which would be read by a handful of people. The judge said this: "The consternation of senior managers of the ABC turned into what can be described as a state of panic." That ended up with Lattouf pretty much being sent off. I do genuinely love the way Hugh Marks responded to the judgement: "This matter has caused concerns to be expressed about the ABC's independence and integrity, which are critical to the great trust the Australian public places in us. Any undue influence or pressure on ABC management or any of its employees must always be guarded against." 100 per cent this. It is so hard to write about difficult things. What happened in Israel on October 7, 2023, was appalling. What has happened in Gaza since October 8 is appalling. Is it equivalent? 1200 people were murdered on October 7. So far, at least 60,000 have been killed in Gaza. It is a catastrophe and now the entire world is embroiled. As I've written elsewhere when reviewing Peter Beinart's brilliant book, Being Jewish after the Destruction of Gaza, "This human suffering is immeasurable - and it has had a dramatic effect on the Jewish community across the world, tearing friends and family apart. Can you be a community that for centuries has experienced persecution and victimhood but turns away when asked to account for violence in your name?" Zionist Jews do not seem willing to accept that what's happening in Gaza is wrong. And Lattouf is not the only person who's been a victim of a lobby group absolutely determined to silence any opposition to the behaviour of Israel. Barely a week ago, the ABC's flagship current affairs program 7.30, aired an interview with Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel. The ABC's Ombudsman's Office received 30 complaints, 27 of which alleged that the interviewer had an anti-Israel bias. The reasons? According to the letters, the interviewer repeatedly interrupted the interviewee, challenged Haskel's answers and didn't include relevant context about Iran's nuclear program and human rights abuses. What of the other three complainants? READ MORE JENNA PRICE: They were concerned that Haskel was being interviewed at all because it provided a platform for her "offensive and incorrect claims by her, in particular that there is no starvation in Gaza". Are we meant to be entering an era of journalism where we don't challenge whatever comes out of someone's mouth? I am sorry that Hugh Martin, the ABC's deputy ombudsman, has had to deal with this rubbish (and I'm sure it's a tiny fraction of what happened about Antoinette Lattouf). Impartial does not mean brain dead. It doesn't mean sitting there and accepting whatever is said. Sometimes, interrupting is the only way forward, the only way of injecting facts into the discussion. The Lattouf case is just one example of this kind of silencing behaviour and we must not, none of us, stand for it. As Matthew Ricketson, professor of journalism at Deakin University, says: "As long as the ABC and politicians in general keep treating news as if it has a great deal of power then nothing will change."
The Guardian
16-02-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Australia is going backwards on race but ‘social cohesion' is not the answer, warns commissioner
The ABC is at risk of isolating its workforce and diverse communities, the race discrimination commissioner has warned, saying the broadcaster's handling of the unlawful termination case brought by Antoinette Lattouf has not been a 'positive step'. Giridharan Sivaraman, who was appointed the race discrimination commissioner in 2024, also warns there has been a 'visceral increase' in racism in Australia in recent years, and says that the country is 'going backwards'. Sivaraman, speaking with Guardian Australia as a series of antisemitic and Islamophobic attacks has shaken Jewish and Muslim communities, is critical of the federal government's plan to introduce mandatory sentences for hate crimes, warning they are 'a real recipe for injustice'. He is concerned that racism could shape campaigns for the upcoming federal election, and is urging political leaders to avoid 'weaponising' issues for political gain. Lattouf was hired as a fill-in presenter on ABC Sydney radio in December 2023 and taken off air three days into a five-day contract after she posted on social media about the Israel-Gaza war. She lodged the suit after the Fair Work Commission found she had been sacked, with the case currently before the federal court. The public broadcaster prompted a furious backlash last week from community groups and among its own staff when it argued that the onus was on Lattouf to prove the existence of a Lebanese, Arab or Middle Eastern race as part of her unlawful termination suit. On Tuesday, following the outcry, the ABC amended its legal defence to say that they accepted 'Lattouf is a person of Lebanese and Arab and Middle Eastern descent'. The controversy followed a 2024 review into racism at the organisation, which detailed anonymous examples of overt and covert racism at the ABC, including the use of racial slurs, offensive comments about a person's appearance, stereotyping, lack of opportunities and mistaking someone for a more junior person based on their racial appearance. The outgoing managing director, David Anderson, had apologised to staff and committed to accept in principle all 15 recommendations made by the review. But in light of the damage done by the legal argument made in court, Sivaraman says it is imperative the ABC acts on the review, or risks struggling to 'regain the trust of its workforce, particularly its racialised workforce, and the communities that it's meant to be working with, especially racialised communities'. 'It really should be acting to a higher standard than others and needs to maintain that in mind,' he says. While Sivaraman acknowledges the review itself was a 'strong step', he stresses: 'Saying that you're going to commit to something doesn't mean anything if you don't actually take the steps required to do it. 'And part of that are the public positions you take on issues of race … Saying that someone needs to prove their race is clearly not a positive step or one that is in the vein of what [it] was they claimed that they would do once that review into racism was released.' A spokesperson for the ABC said work to implement some of the recommendations from the report had 'progressed'. 'As we stated last year, we are committed to implementing the recommendations of the Listen Loudly, Act Strongly review and work has progressed, with a number of recommendations already implemented and a number underway.' Sivaraman has criticised the federal government's recent move to set mandatory jail terms for terror crimes and displaying hate symbols, a breach of the Labor party's previous platform. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, recently explained that the laws were introduced because he wanted to see people 'held to account'. 'I want the entire parliament to work together to make sure that we stamp out antisemitism, that we hold people to account for what are crimes.' But Sivaraman notes that the Australian Human Rights Commission 'has always opposed' mandatory sentences. 'They can be a real recipe for injustice, and they undermine the ability of courts to ensure that the punishment fits the particular crime,' he says. 'We think that courts are best placed to consider all the relevant circumstances before imposing an appropriate penalty.' The consequences of imposing mandatory sentences in these instances could be felt, he adds, by people from 'disadvantaged backgrounds'. With the election due in months, Sivaraman says the current political context makes it especially important that political and cultural leaders be 'careful they don't dehumanise marginalised communities'. He says while discussing issues such as immigration and housing is important, it is equally important that politicians remain wary of causing 'panic' and 'normalising' racism. 'We shouldn't use dehumanising rhetoric that can often desensitise the public, can normalise racism and create a kind of panic and that is then used against racialised people.' Political rhetoric that devolves into racism is a 'good example of how a structural issue gives permission to interpersonal racism to occur', he says, 'because if your leaders can do it, then people will think anyone can do it'. 'Leaders should set themselves to a higher standard than everyone else.' But Sivaraman is also at pains to emphasise that he believes the concept of 'social cohesion' is not a constructive way to approach issues of racism and marginalisation. The term has been heard from various political figures in recent months, including the prime minister, when he urged pro-Palestine protesters to avoid holding rallies to mark the anniversary of the 7 October Hamas attacks. 'It is not a time to raise the temperature. It's a time to try to make sure that social cohesion in Australia is valued,' he said at the time. Albanese had used the term a year earlier, in December 2023, saying Australia's 'social cohesion is absolutely critical. And we need to bear that in mind in all of our actions.' In July 2024, the PM announced Peter Khalil as the first special envoy for social cohesion, saying: 'We know that in today's climate, there is a great deal of concern about disharmony.' But Sivaraman says the term erases conversations about structural racism. 'It's just a buzzword,' he says. 'We need to be able to get along, but part of that is having difficult conversations sometimes, and we don't. We shouldn't get along at the expense of pretending racism doesn't exist, and that's the key.' He says the widespread use of the phrase 'social cohesion' is because 'people don't want to use the word race [or] racism'. The AHRC's audit of anti-racism work across all levels of government, federal, state and local, revealed 'a huge reluctance to use the word,'' he adds. 'I'm a bit sick of people telling me, 'Stop talking about racism, because you're disrupting the social cohesion'.'
