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For me this has been a year of victories and losses…exhilarating highs and devastating lows.

My individual experiences have in some ways paralleled Australia’s year of upheaval and revival. Personally, I won a fiercely contested, long running legal case in the ACT Supreme Court against a corporate bastard. On a national scale, Kevin Rudd won government in a landslide victory against our former Prime Minister John Howard - who also lost his seat to respected former ABC journalist, Maxine McKew.

I haven’t written about my personal battle before but I think it’s time I did. So, I’ll begin here…at the end of the story. The end of the story is the place I have to start because the injury, its consequences and the trauma inflicted by the seven year legal fight are still too raw for me to unearth.

My case for damages against Kosciusko Thredbo Pty Ltd (KT) was brought after I seriously injured my back when I slipped on a ramp at the ski resort while covering the 1997 landslide disaster for the ABC. I crushed a vertebrae when I fell on that ramp, which was found to be in breach of planning and building regulations, with a gradient at least three times steeper than legally allowed. Ultimately, my fall also crushed my career aspirations as a political journalist and wannabe foreign correspondent. As a result of my fall I was “medically terminated” (an appalling descriptor for an action that amounted to being dismissed on medical grounds without benefits) by the ABC and I was left with chronic, life-long back pain.

In February, the Master of the ACT Supreme Court, David Harper, handed down a million dollar plus judgement in my favour – after deliberating for seven months. It was the second time he’d delivered judgement in my case. The first time – in 2004 – he found against me on a technicality. That judgement took him 11 months to hand down and it threatened to bankrupt me as KT announced its determination to pursue legal costs, estimated at over $1m. With nothing to lose, I appealed and won before the ACT Appeals Court which, acknowledging the appearance of a potential miscarriage of justice, recommended the case be returned to the Supreme Court to allow further evidence to be heard on the issue of building regulations. Next, KT took the case to the High Court, continuing their strategy of delaying the legal process step-by-step, but they failed to secure Leave To Appeal.

The company again threatened to appeal all the way to the High Court after Master Harper delivered his final judgement but eventually settled the case in March this year – although they threatened to rescind the settlement after I told my story to the Sydney Morning Herald (the story and my reaction to it will be the subject of a future post). By May the cheque had cleared but a millionaire I was not – despite media inferences and the assumptions of others! Once legal, medical and rehabilitation debts were repaid as required, I was left with just enough money to make a significant dent on my mortgage, allowing me some insurance against the costs of my future medical needs.

But while the verdict failed to enrich me, the relief was overwhelming – as was the knowledge that the Commonwealth insurer, Comcare, was out of my life for good. This agency makes Centrelink look benevolent.

So the champagne corks were popped and joy eventually supplanted the disbelief. For this I am extremely grateful to my legal team who offered support as well as legal advice and worked tirelessly for victory and justice on my behalf. Their ongoing friendship is the highlight of my legal struggle.

In June, my partner and I took off for Europe via Singapore – a timely journey of celebration mixed with enriching intellectual engagement and professional development for me. I attended four international academic conferences and made presentations at two of them on my PhD research into the news media’s coverage of Muslim women.

A highlight of these experiences was making some wonderful new friends – one of them, who inspired a personal revival, also encouraged me to start this blog which has, in turn, led to a journalistic resurgence. Two others I sailed the Amsterdam canals with during a conference dinner none of the other diners will forget - thanks to our raucous laughter and uncensored Australian political commentary which was heavily influenced by the fruits of European vineyards. They’ve now become colleagues on projects revolving around Multicultural reporting. Serendipitous synchronicity!

But one of the year’s devastating losses interfered with this joy and destroyed one of the highs. In Europe I discovered I was pregnant but on the flight home I started to miscarry. My partner and I felt the loss acutely – it was my third consecutive miscarriage. I’m a frenetic coper – thanks to myriad life crises which turned me into a fighter and a survivor – so my recovery (as much as you can recover from such experiences) was relatively swift. And it was aided by a productive bout of ‘workaholism’, some valued relationships and sabbatical from my lecturing duties at the University of Canberra.

I've also found professional purpose and meaning in my new career as a journalism academic. My students inspire me and my research expands my mind. Perhaps, in time, I'll come to see my fall as the necessary stumble that set me on this new path of discovery. Or perhaps it will just fade into the background as the discourses of the story shift to perseverance, survival, triumph and renewal.

I liken my year to trampolining – up, down, up, down, somersault, up, down, up, down, back-flip, up, down, up, down, star-jump, up...you get the picture. But that’s life isn’t it? The lows ground you and offer perspective, the highs keep you jumping and shooting for the stars.

For 2008 my hopes are for personal enrichment – not material but emotional, intellectual and spiritual. I need to continue my recovery from the trauma of the past decade and focus on the future; seizing opportunities and celebrating life, friendship and love. For my family and friends I wish for the fulfillment of their hearts’ desires. For you, I hope for peace and happiness. For my country, that new leadership translates to more heart in government. And, for the world…that it survives humanity and man’s inhumanity to man.

But wherever you are, whoever you're with, whatever you're drinking, raise your glass on New Year's Eve and toast life - the highs, lows; laughter, tears; loves, losses...all of which enrich our existence.    [read more]