Report: Another legal case lodged against Nine

Nine’s legal cases are beginning to mount with a new sexual discrimination case lodged by reporter Airlie Walsh in the Human Rights Commission.

Walsh joined Nine in 2008 as a producer on Today before moving to the Nine News team, including as one of two journalists in the country broadcasting live from Lindt Cafe siege. In 2018 she headed to Canberra as Political Reporter. Most recently, she worked in Nine’s Sydney newsrooms but is currently on maternity leave.

Nine-owned Australian Financial Review and The Age report Nine is yet to comment on the case.

It follows Nine’s former Queensland News boss Amanda Paterson lodging a complaint with the Fair Work Commission less than a month after she was sacked.

Paterson has complained to the Fair Work Commission that she was unlawfully sacked in November after 31 years at the network.

Instead, the Fair Work complaint says Paterson was told there were three alleged workplace breaches that amounted to serious misconduct, including the failure to complete training modules, the handling of a contract extension of one of her direct reports, and an inappropriate remark made at a ratings party about Nine getting “rid of all the d***heads”, according to lawyer John Laxon.

“It’s the lamest excuse to terminate a senior manager I’ve ever seen, and it doesn’t come within a bull’s roar of serious misconduct,” he said.

That matter is scheduled for mediation.

Intersection’s workplace culture report in October uncovered systemic issues with abuse of power and authority, bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment.  More than 60 per cent of their recommendations are complete or underway with Nine’s Board endorsing an Action Plan released publicly on the weekend.

Nine Entertainment Acting CEO Matt Stanton said, “Since the release of the Intersection Report, Nine has taken decisive action which will positively contribute to our cultural uplift. We’ve also spent a lot of time connecting and communicating with our people, reflecting on how we can learn from this difficult yet necessary process and make lasting change.”