Australia’s public broadcaster was ordered to pay a hefty penalty to a radio journalist dismissed over a social media post related to the Israel-Gaza conflict, AFP reports.

Journalist Antoinette Lattouf took legal action after being fired in December 2023 just three days into a five-day casual contract with the ABC.

She was fired for reposting to Instagram a Human Rights Watch video report on the Gaza conflict with the comment: “HRW reporting starvation as a tool of war”.

Federal Court judge Darryl Rangiah previously said the broadcaster broke employment law by terminating Lattouf “for reasons including that she held political opinions opposing the Israeli military campaign in Gaza”. And yesterday, Rangiah said the ABC’s contraventions caused very “significant consequences” for Lattouf.

“For most people, employment is not just a source of income, but contributes substantially to their sense of purpose, identity and self-worth,” he said.