Latest news with #Buttrose
The Guardian
24-02-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Afternoon Update: Ita Buttrose's explosive letter; conservatives win in Germany; and Pamela Anderson's renaissance
The former ABC chair Ita Buttrose has pointed to alleged 'inconsistencies' in David Anderson's affidavit for a federal court case, citing differing details of where and when the outgoing managing director told Buttrose that Antoinette Lattouf had been sacked. In an explosive letter to ABC lawyers seen by Guardian Australia, Buttrose last week urged the ABC to tell Lattouf's lawyers about the alleged inconsistencies in Anderson's version of events as set out in his affidavit. The affidavit was filed in court in Lattouf's unlawful termination case against the ABC, which returns for closing arguments on Thursday. Guardian Australia does not suggest that Anderson's testimony in the federal court case was anything but his honest recollection of events that took place in late 2023. Coalition nuclear plan hides a 2bn tonne 'carbon bomb' that puts net zero by 2050 out of reach, new analysis shows Bruce Lehrmann faces Hobart court accused of stealing Toyota 4WD Four WiseTech board directors quit over 'differing views' of Richard White's role Zelenskyy says he would 'quit for peace' as he refuses US demand for Ukraine minerals Dutton says Coalition will pay to match Labor's $8.5bn Medicare boost by cutting thousands of public service jobs Screen Actors Guild awards: Timothée Chalamet, Demi Moore, Kieran Culkin and Zoe Saldaña win major categories The Coca-Cola sign at Kings Cross has hit its 50th anniversary – but other big ads around Australia have even older tales to tell. 'I'd like to express my respect for our political rivals … it was a very tough campaign.' The conservative party helmed by Friedrich Merz is working to form a ruling coalition after clinching almost 29% of Germany's election vote. The far-right AfD finished second with about 21% of the vote. The world's billionaires in January amassed more wealth than the poorest third of humanity owns, adding about A$16bn a day to their wealth, according to new Oxfam analysis. Sign up to Afternoon Update Our Australian afternoon update breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Are you a gen Z or millennial voter (between the ages of 18 and 39, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics)? Tell us what issues you care about at the federal election. Pamela Anderson's acting career has had a renaissance via an unexpected role in The Last Showgirl. The former Baywatch star answers questions from readers and famous fans including Stella McCartney, Liam Neeson, Ruby Wax and Naomi Klein. Today's starter word is: OUST. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply. If you would like to receive this Afternoon Update to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here, or start your day with a curated breakdown of the key stories you need to know with our Morning Mail newsletter. You can follow the latest in US politics by signing up for This Week in Trumpland.
The Guardian
24-02-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Ita Buttrose claims ‘inconsistencies' in ABC boss David Anderson's affidavit in Antoinette Lattouf case
Former ABC chair Ita Buttrose has pointed to alleged 'inconsistencies' in David Anderson's affidavit for a federal court case, citing differing details of where and when the outgoing managing director told Buttrose that Antoinette Lattouf had been sacked. In an explosive letter to ABC lawyers seen by Guardian Australia, Buttrose last week urged the ABC to tell Lattouf's lawyers about the alleged inconsistencies in Anderson's version of events as set out in his affidavit. The affidavit was filed in court in Lattouf's unlawful termination case against the ABC which returns for closing arguments on Thursday. Guardian Australia does not suggest that Anderson's testimony in the federal court case was anything but his honest recollection of events that took place in late 2023. Buttrose in her letter demanded the ABC contact Lattouf's lawyers 'as a matter of absolute urgency' and, if they failed to do so, she said she would 'take the appropriate action'. The evidence Buttrose refers to is an invoice from a hire car company which transported the chair and the managing director to a Christmas lunch on Wednesday 20 December 2023 – which she claims suggests that Anderson's affidavit was contradictory. It was the same day that Lattouf was told she would not be returning for the final two days of the ABC radio show she was hosting. Phone calls and texts were flying between Anderson and the ABC's content chief, Chris Oliver-Taylor. When Anderson left for the lunch Lattouf had not yet been removed. A casual broadcaster, Lattouf was dismissed from hosting ABC's Sydney Mornings program in December 2023 and later brought an unlawful termination case before the federal court. 'In the interests of transparency and our legal obligations to do so, the invoice from 'Corporate Cars Australia' must be provided to Ms Lattouf,' Buttrose writes in Thursday's letter, adding a deadline of 2pm on Friday. The ABC does not appear to have taken any action in response to Buttrose's letter. The publicly available court file does not show any documents having been filed by the ABC since it received Buttrose's letter. According to Buttrose, she was picked up at home on 20 December 2023 and driven in the hire car to pick up Anderson at the ABC's Ultimo headquarters. Buttrose points to Anderson's affidavit where he states the two met at the ABC Ultimo office 'outside her office on Level 14 to travel to lunch together'. 'Clearly, Mr Anderson was not having a conversation with me on Level 14 at Ultimo, when I wasn't even in the building,' Buttrose wrote to the ABC's lawyers last week. She also highlights his account of a conversation he had with Buttrose in which she said words to the effect of 'we're just going to have to agree to disagree' that management had decided to keep Lattouf on air until Friday. Buttrose alleges 'no such conversation ever took place; and this is corroborated with irrefutable evidence which the ABC now has'. A conference call with the ABC's legal department on 18 February 'discussed evidence [Buttrose] had that completely refuted Mr Anderson's affidavit', according to the letter. 'I then emailed that evidence to everyone in this group,' Buttrose said. 'That evidence being, an invoice from 'Corporate Cars Australia' that showed that at 12:10pm on 20 December 2023, a car picked me up from my home address in Redfern; and at 12:30pm, that car pulled up to the front of the ABC offices at Ultimo.' Buttrose's alleged inconsistencies do not appear to be material to the case. The federal court has heard that Lattouf was sacked while Anderson and Buttrose were at lunch and Oliver-Taylor told the managing director initially via text of his decision, which was then conveyed to Buttrose. Buttrose disputes Anderson's version of events about how the matter unfolded. She disputes Anderson's recollection that after the lunch Anderson had a conversation with Oliver-Taylor about Lattouf's sacking 'as he travelled in a taxi back to the ABC offices'. 'He was, in fact, in a hire car with me,' Buttrose said in her seven-page letter. Buttrose said the hire car invoice shows they left the restaurant at 3pm and Anderson was dropped back at the office first – before she was driven home. In his affidavit sworn in October 2024, and released by the federal court, Anderson states he rang Oliver-Taylor back during lunch and was told 'we have decided we need to take her [Lattouf] off the air'. Anderson said 'immediately after hanging up from the call with Mr Oliver-Taylor, I informed Ms Buttrose about the conversation'. In her October 2024 affidavit released by the court, Buttrose states: 'I do not now recall the discussions that Mr Anderson and I had during the course of lunch on 20 December … I do not recall whether we discussed Ms Lattouf.' He further states that after the lunch he assisted Buttrose to her hire car and then got a taxi back to the ABC. 'During my taxi ride back to the office, I called Mr Oliver-Taylor, and (to the best of my recollection) we had a conversation' where Oliver-Taylor provided more details including the allegation that Lattouf 'posted on social media against instructions'. An ABC spokesperson declined to comment on the substance of Buttrose's letter. 'The matter is before the court and it would be inappropriate for the ABC to comment while proceedings are under way,' he said. Buttrose declined to comment. Final submissions in the unlawful termination case are scheduled to be heard on Thursday and Friday before justice Darryl Rangiah retires to consider his verdict.
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.
The Guardian
11-02-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Someone senior' leaked Antoinette Lattouf's sacking to The Australian, Laura Tingle warned Ita Buttrose
ABC's chief political correspondent Laura Tingle wrote to the then chair Ita Buttrose to express her 'deep concern' that someone senior had leaked information about Antoinette Lattouf's dismissal to News Corp's The Australian newspaper, the federal court was told. An article about Lattouf's removal from ABC Sydney radio was published by The Australian shortly after the journalist was called in and told she could not return to finish her two shifts because she posted about the Israel-Gaza war. Tingle's concern was revealed during the cross-examination of Buttrose on Tuesday afternoon, on day six of the unlawful termination case brought by Lattouf against the ABC before Justice Darryl Rangiah. In addition to her reporting role, Tingle is the ABC staff-elected director on the broadcaster's board. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email 'Whether or not she breached the social media code, the fact that someone apparently senior briefed The Australian on it and (I suspect) verballed your actual role in any action taken on it, is almost as spectacular an error of judgement as any social media breach,' Tingle wrote. 'It leaves both Antoinette and the ABC suffering reputational damage.' Tingle added that the incident had 'deeply unsettled staff, who feel the ABC is not supporting them'. 'A widely held view is 'well, they hired her to do these shifts knowing what she had written/reported, and have now buckled in the face of pressure from the Israel lobby'.' The court heard last week that content chief Chris Oliver-Taylor had taken a call from The Australian and said 'no comment' but was unaware of who had leaked the story. The evidence has also shown he wanted to dismiss Lattouf before The Australian published the article. Earlier, Buttrose denied she knew Lattouf had been targeted by the pro-Israel lobby or that she knew many of the complaints she received were part of a coordinated campaign. She denied the ABC had buckled in the face of pressure from the pro-Israel lobby, and accused counsel for Lattouf, Philip Boncardo, of trying to suggest it. 'I know that you've been trying to make that inference here today,' Buttrose said. Buttrose said she did not pressure the managing director David Anderson to take Lattouf off ABC radio, even though she believed it was 'quite apparent' the journalist was an 'activist' in relation to the Israel-Gaza conflict. 'She was a controversial broadcaster, and I think – in relation to the Gaza-Israel conflict – she was an activist, that was quite apparent,' she said. 'I drew the conclusion, and I don't think we should have hired an activist of any kind, regardless of whatever view they held.' Questioned why she asked Anderson 'has she been replaced', Buttrose said she was simply 'asking for an update' on the situation because she was sick of getting multiple emails. 'I observed from reading the letters, the letter-writers felt that we were not being impartial, and I was concerned about what that would do for the ABC's reputation and 702,' Buttrose said. She agreed she did not research of her own into whether Lattouf was an activist. Sign up to Morning Mail Our Australian morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Buttrose said she expected Lattouf would lose her job because she had a long career in the media and she knew intuitively what would happen. Buttrose laughed when Boncardo questioned her email asking Anderson why Lattouf couldn't 'come down with flu or COVID or a stomach upset'. It was a 'face-saving suggestion', she said adding: 'I just thought it might be easier for Antoinette'. Boncardo: 'That is not truthful evidence, Ms Buttrose.' Buttrose: 'If I wanted somebody removed, I'd be franker than that.' The 83-year-old, who arrived in court in a wheelchair, due to back surgery, denied that she was pleased Lattouf had been terminated. 'I didn't wish her to be removed,' she said. 'I didn't put pressure on anybody. It's a fantasy of your own imagination. I have nothing to do with her dismissal,' she said. A congratulatory email from a complainant that thanked Buttrose, Anderson and the board for making the 'right decision to fire Ms Lattouf from the national broadcaster' was also put before the court. Buttrose had forwarded it to Anderson with the note: 'nice to get congratulatory emails'. Buttrose said she did not know Lattouf was Lebanese and although they had both appeared on Channel Ten's Studio 10 program in 2013 she did not remember meeting her. 'People's colour doesn't really worry me at all,' Buttrose said. Lattouf was taken off air three days into a five-day casual contract in December 2023 after she posted on social media about the Israel-Gaza war. The Fair Work Commission found she was sacked from a casual presenting role on ABC local radio, opening the way for her to lodge an unlawful termination in the federal court.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ita Buttrose sent six emails about Antoinette Lattouf in 19 minutes, hours before dismissal, court documents show
The former ABC chair Ita Buttrose sent six emails in rapid succession detailing complaints about Antoinette Lattouf to the broadcaster's content chief, Chris Oliver-Taylor, in the hours leading up to the casual presenter's dismissal, federal court documents show. With the subject line 'Ms Lattouf', the stream of emails was sent between 11.13am and 11.32am on the Wednesday before the journalist was sacked at 1.30pm. Included in Oliver-Taylor's affidavit, filed by the ABC on Monday,were dozens of complaints the chair had received about the ABC's decision to hire Lattouf. Buttrose's assistant had informed Oliver-Taylor he would be seeing all the emails she had received. 'The Chair/Board has received several email complaints regarding Antoinette Lattouf,' Buttrose's assistant wrote to Oliver-Taylor. 'After a discussion between Ita and [the managing director] David [Anderson] we've been advised to forward these emails to you – please find them attached.' 'I think we will keep getting these complaints until Antoinette leaves,' Buttrose wrote to Oliver-Taylor at 11.25am. Lattouf was taken off air three days into a five-day casual contract in December 2023 after she posted on social media about the Israel-Gaza war. She took legal action and, in June 2024, the Fair Work Commission found she was sacked. She is pursuing a case alleging unlawful termination in the federal court. On Tuesday and Wednesday five remaining witnesses will give evidence regarding the claim before Justice Darryl Rangiah in Sydney's federal court: Buttrose; the former Sydney local radio manager Steve Ahern; ABC Radio Sydney's content director, Elizabeth Green; the acting editorial director, Simon Melkman, and the director of audio, Ben Latimer. Buttrose is due to appear in court about midday on Tuesday. Correspondence filed in the court shows Buttrose was frustrated that she was being targeted by the complainants and that she had repeatedly asked Anderson why Lattouf was still on air. The emails also show that the ABC was warned by its own editorial standards expert – Melkman – that if the broadcaster pursued disciplinary action against Lattouf, management should first consult the people and culture department. 'There's an established process for this, which involves formally investigating and giving the person procedural fairness etc,' Melkman wrote on Monday 18 December. Anderson conceded at last week's trial that 'steps' had been missed in the ABC's usual processes. Oliver-Taylor told the court he had relied on his direct reports to take all the necessary action. Related: The Lattouf trial reveals an ABC so paralysed by process even its managers can't keep up In the emails included in the federal court documents Melkman also warned that Lattouf 'would make it [a dismissal] a very big (and very public) issue' and they should be 'mindful of how things might play out'. In an email sent after reading the complaints, Melkman wrote that some of the complainants were 'seriously misguided' in their reference to the ABC's code of practice because it 'applies to content we broadcast, not our hiring decisions'. Emails from Oliver-Taylor show that after her social media post, which he was informed of at 12.19pm on Wednesday 20 December, he wanted to stand Lattouf down before the Australian published an article about it. 'Ben [Latimer] reviewing, but if she has [breached guidelines] we will have to stand her down,' Oliver-Taylor wrote to ABC communications at 12.43pm. 'If we do that we should do it before the story runs.' 'At or around 2.39 pm on Wednesday, 20 December 2023, an article with headline 'ABC presenter Antoinette Lattouf sacked after anti-Israel social media posts' was posted on website,' the timeline published by the court said. Oliver-Taylor told the court last week he had spoken to the Australian's Sophie Elsworth, who wrote the article, when she called him but that he told her 'no comment' and had no idea who had leaked the story. Rangiah opened proceedings on Tuesday saying he was 'deeply unhappy' that the ABC originally filed an unredacted version of the affidavit despite a federal court order that the names of the people who complained to the ABC about Lattouf should remain private. The mistake was realised and the document was taken down. The ABC barrister Ian Neil SC apologised for what he says was 'human error'. The redacted affidavit was re-uploaded on Tuesday.
