Lattouf demands personal apology from Kim Williams

Antoinette Lattouf says no one from ABC has apologised personally to her and has called on chairman Kim Williams to do so, in the first insight into her unfair dismissal victory against the national broadcaster.

Speaking with co-host Jan Fran on the “We used to be journos” podcast, Lattouf described her experience during the Federal Court case as “incredibly difficult”.

She spoke of the moment when her lawyer Philip Boncardo told her they had won — while Justice Darryl Rangiah was still reading his verdict.

“ I put my head down and I sobbed because it was this enormous relief,” she said.

Lattouf and Fran’s podcast

Lattouf said ABC managing director Hugh Marks had no option but to issue a formal apology to her after the decision, given the unequivocal nature of the court victory.

Despite the public announcement, she had not personally heard from anyone at the ABC.

“I’m yet to be contacted by the ABC for an apology,” she said.

“And in particular, I want an apology from Kim Williams, the chair of the ABC.

“At the National Press Club, just late last year, he spoke venomously about me in front of … a room of journalists. He denied that I was sacked despite the Fair Work Commission finding that I was sacked. He spoke with derision in his voice, and I thought, as the new chair of the ABC you are meant to be signalling a fresh start.”

Lattouf revealed her anger at then-ABC chair Ita Buttrose, who testified during the case. Fran also criticised Buttrose, taking exception to Buttrose’s assertion that some people viewed the ABC “as a cash cow”.

“ A casual that was employed for five days looking at the ABC as a cash cow? Let me tell you right now, there is not a journalist in sight who says, ‘you know what? I want to work at the ABC for money’.”

Lattouf questioned the arrogance and intelligence of the ABC in pursuing the case when both sides were fully aware of all the email material available through the court’s discovery process.

She also took aim at then-MD David Anderson, who assumed she was anti-Semitic without properly reading her social media posts.

“It just showed Anderson’s bias and prejudice rather than mine. Because if you are going to conclude that someone is full of anti-Semitic hatred and there is not one example, well then who is the person with the preconceived notion?”