Controversial South Australian wombat cull scrapped by Aboriginal Lands Trust

The March 5, 2020 story “Controversial South Australian wombat cull scrapped by Aboriginal Lands Trust” by Gary-Jon Lysaght and Paul Culliver written for ABC News is an ongoing story about the previously approved cull on wombats on the Yorke Peninsula in South Australia. The cull was originally approved to take place on farmland owned by an Aboriginal community because the wombats were interfering with farming. The cull is now called off and the Aboriginal Lands Trust is working to find an alternative solution.  

The story lacks many important details. It very briefly explains the purpose of the cull, only saying that “the wombats were causing damage to farming equipment.” It then goes on to say that the cull is no longer happening, but fails to give an explanation of why. There is no discussion of the stakeholders that were against the cull or how the Aboriginal Lands Trust came to the decision to call it off. The story says that when the cull request was submitted, it was supported by the Point Place community, the Aboriginal Lands trust and other stakeholders. It does not discuss what changed for the cull to be called off now. 

The story relied heavily on quotes from John Chester, the chief executive of the Aboriginal Lands Trust. He seems to defend the cull. It would have been interesting to hear the point of view of  another member of the Aboriginal community, ideally someone that opposed the views of John Chester in order to get another perspective. It also would have been interesting to hear from the farmers that were directly impacted by the wombats. This would have made the story more personal and real. 

The structure of the story was choppy and difficult to follow as it was broken into five sections that were not well connected. Each section could have been connected through a broader,  overarching theme of biodiversity or sustainability. Including quotes from an environmental expert about the importance of wombats to the ecosystem would have been an interesting addition that could have helped to connect the points.

Overall, this story failed to educate the reader on the details of the situation. At the end of the story, the only thing that is known for sure is that the cull is no longer happening.It is useful in getting the basic message across, but does not succeed in digging deeper and telling the rest of the story.