Radio dismissal ‘breached rules’
Two senior staff members involved in the dismissal have since quit the station.
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has found Sydney community broadcaster Radio Skid Row breached community participation rules when it dismissed a Jewish volunteer presenter without following proper procedures.
An ACMA investigation found the station failed to follow its own disciplinary procedure when it dismissed Nicole, who prefers not to have her last name used, without giving her clear reasons or offering a right of appeal.
Two senior staff members involved in the dismissal have since quit the station.
While ACMA found the station’s policies did not restrict participation on political or cultural grounds, its failure to follow proper procedures left Nicole believing she was dismissed for her political and cultural views.
The dismissal also contributed to a broader perception of barriers to participation based on political and cultural beliefs within the station, ACMA found.
Nicole hosted a Spanish language Latin American community program on the station.
She told The AJN in December she was dismissed following a confrontational meeting where station management mocked her concerns about antisemitism and insisted she promote Palestinian resistance movements.
“While I was telling them about this movement, what it’s done to the Jewish community, how it’s reminiscent of the Holocaust, how it’s been really uncomfortable and we’re scared, they were laughing at me,” she said.
When Nicole told a female staff member she didn’t appreciate the laughter, the woman responded: “I don’t appreciate your white woman tears.”
Nicole said management confirmed supporting Palestinian resistance and denying Hamas had committed atrocities on October 7, and insisted she would need to “discuss it on my show and join their rallies” to continue broadcasting.
She has declined to comment on the recent ACMA findings.
Radio Skid Row has accepted the findings and agreed to implement training on policies and procedures for volunteers, and report to ACMA about any disciplinary actions in 2026 and 2027.
NCJWA president Lynda Ben-Menashe told Sky News that while ACMA’s finding highlighted “procedural failures”, it failed to address “the heart of the matter”.
“In reality, it was about holding them accountable for their discrimination against a volunteer who opposed their extremist stance,” she said.