My journey to the ABC Inclusive Awards

Stepping onto the stage in Sydney last week to host the inaugural ABC Inclusive Awards was a moment of profound personal reflection and joy. Because these awards are an internal celebration for my employer, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, you won’t read about them in the news. But looking out at the room—and connecting via Zoom with colleagues tuning in from all corners of the country—I couldn’t help but marvel at how much life can change in just a few short years.

For over three decades, I made a living asking the questions as an ABC radio journalist presenter and manager. I prided myself on having the “full picture” and considered myself a “good ally” to the disability community. I used the correct terminology, developed content, and slept well believing I was on the right side of history. Then, sepsis upended my script, turning a holiday infection into a fight for survival that cost me my leg and overnight shattered the comfortable illusion of my allyship.

Standing on that stage with a prosthetic limb, emceeing alongside our brilliant Auslan interpreters and wearing my Is It Sepsis campaign shirt, I felt the deep weight and joy of my transformed identity.

I used to think I understood the totality of the human condition, but my own journey exposed a lifetime of profound blind spots. I had to learn that the disability community is vast and diverse—that 90% of disabilities are invisible, spanning neurodivergence, chronic pain, and sensory impairments. I shifted from someone who thought they were an ally to a proud, card-carrying member of a community that taught me what I had been missing all those years: that disability is not a monolith, a tragedy, or inspiration porn, but a vibrant, essential facet of humanity.

Surrounded by my colleagues, the day was filled with moments that touched my soul. Daniel McDonald, a proud Deaf Aboriginal man and artist, opened us up with a Welcome to Country that spoke of the “golden pathways” we are walking together. Later, our keynote speaker, Maddie Stewart, delivered a talk that was as hilarious as it was vital—reminding us all about the importance of normalising disability rather than just featuring it.

Listening to the incredible achievements of our award nominees and winners illed me with immense pride. We also took a well-deserved moment to honour our outgoing co-chairs whose tireless, above-and-beyond passion has fundamentally shifted the ABC’s culture for the better.

Reflecting on where I started, the stories I once missed, and the community I was eventually welcomed into, I felt a deep, swelling joy and pride.