I really don’t care, Margaret.

Mmm I see. Hun:

ABC managing director David Anderson said claims “Australia is a racist country” is based in “fact” as he told a court other high-profile journalists haven’t been pulled from air for making “impartial statements” on “contentious” issues similar to Antoinette Lattouf.

Ms Lattouf’s high-profile trial returned to the Federal Court for a third day on Wednesday, with the ABC opening its case after she sued the national broadcaster claiming unfair dismissal.

Ms Lattouf launched legal action after she was sent home for the final two days of a five-day fill-in stint on ABC Radio’s Sydney Mornings program in December 2023.

She is suing under the Fair Work Act and has claimed her sacking was motivated by complaints made during a campaign by the “pro-Israel lobby” because of her political beliefs and social media posts on the Gaza war.

She claimed she was unlawfully sacked after sharing a post on Instagram by Human Rights Watch reading “HRW reporting starvation as a tool of war”.

“The Israeli government is using starvation of civilians as a weapon of war in Gaza,” the post also read.

Mr Anderson told the court that he said there was a “step missing” in Ms Lattouf being taken off air, saying with hindsight she should have been provided with a right of reply.

He told the court that a manager, ABC chief content officer Christopher Oliver-Taylor, made the decision because Ms Lattouf had disobeyed a direction not to post to social media about the war several days earlier.

He was then asked by Mr Fagir about whether he considered a series of statements “contentious”.

“Do you regard this as an impartial statement ‘Australia is a racist country’,” Ms Lattouf’s barrister Oshie Fagir asked.

“I have no problem with that statement, because it is based in fact that we have a history of racism,” Mr Anderson told the court.

“Do you say it is an impartial statement: ‘Australia is a racist country’,” Mr Fagir asked.

“It is an impartial statement based in fact,” Mr Anderson said.

“You say ‘Australia is a racist country’ is an impartial statement,” Mr Fagir said.

“Based in fact. I don’t know how you can deny racism in this country,” Mr Anderson replied.

He said there was “further evidence” there was “racism in this country”.

His questions were directed towards statements made by ABC political reporter Laura Tingle at a writer’s festival that Australia was a “racist country”.

Mr Anderson said that Ms Tingle had not been taken off air but was sanctioned for other statements about opposition leader Peter Dutton.

“Ms Tingle’s statements soon after that were problematic, but that statement was not what I had a problem with,” Mr Anderson said.

He was later asked by Mr Fagir: “Can you tell me this – do you regard the making of the statement that ‘Australia is a racist country and always has been’ as conduct which is capable of reasonably being perceived as not to be impartial?”

“It could be perceived that way, yes,” Mr Anderson replied.

ABC barrister Ian Neil SC told the court on Monday that Mr Anderson was concerned about “impartiality and perceptions of impartiality” when he personally inspected Ms Lattouf’s social media accounts.

Mr Anderson was also asked about a tweet by former Media Watch presenter Paul Barry who said: “Israel is killing journalists again.”

“No I didn’t know that actually,” Mr Anderson replied.

“No one told you that?” Mr Fagir asked.

“I do not recall anyone telling me that,” Mr Anderson said.

“You haven’t spent an evening reviewing Paul Barry’s tweets?” Mr Fagir asked.

“No I haven’t,” Mr Anderson said.

Mr Anderson told the court that Mr Barry was neither taken off air nor sanctioned.

He said the statement could be perceived to be “impartial”.

There’s more to this sordid tale but I must away. Needless to say, what a shitshow.