Channel Nine reporter Airlie Walsh has reached a confidential settlement in her sexual discrimination case against Nine Entertainment, saying she is relieved with the outcome and buoyed by her colleagues also speaking out.
Walsh, who has been with the company for 16 years, filed a human rights sexual discrimination case against Nine in the Federal Court. While details of Walsh’s claims were not made public, they were understood to have related to treatment she faced during pregnancy and alleged harassment.
Airlie Walsh has been an on-screen presence at Nine for more than a decade.Credit: Wolter Peeters
Walsh’s complaint, issued to Nine in January last year, was the first to make allegations against the company’s former director of news and current affairs Darren Wick, according to sources familiar with the complaint but not authorised to speak publicly.
Wick left Nine amid a number of complaints from staff about alleged lecherous conduct.
Walsh, who is leaving Nine, said she engaged lawyers in October 2023 to try to “right a number of wrongs”.
“During this time, more women bravely came forward, Nine conducted a culture review, and many of
my broadcast colleagues contributed their experiences. In doing so, I was buoyed. It turns out,
courage is contagious,” she said in a statement.
“While this isn’t the way I wanted to leave Nine, I’m filled with gratitude towards those who made me a better journalist and person, and I’m relieved the legal process has been resolved.”
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Josh Bornstein, principal lawyer at Maurice Blackburn and Walsh’s legal representation, said her legal efforts took courage and had spurred a number of other women to take action.
