Calla Wahlquist is a Melbourne-based reporter for The Guardian Australia, specializing in Indigenous affairs, environmental policy, and social justice. With a career rooted in regional journalism, she brings a nuanced understanding of systemic inequities to her national reporting.
Awards: Two-time Walkley Award winner for investigative innovation and Indigenous affairs coverage. Her work has influenced corporate policies and parliamentary inquiries.
Calla Wahlquist is an award-winning journalist at The Guardian Australia, renowned for her incisive reporting on Indigenous affairs, environmental crises, and social justice issues. With a career spanning over a decade, she has become a pivotal voice in Australian journalism, blending rigorous investigative methods with a deep commitment to ethical storytelling.
Wahlquist began her career in regional journalism, covering grassroots stories in Tasmania and Western Australia. This foundational experience honed her ability to navigate complex community dynamics and institutional accountability. Her 2014 move to The Guardian Australia marked a shift toward systemic investigations, particularly on Indigenous rights and environmental policy.
Wahlquist prioritizes stories that expose systemic inequities affecting First Nations communities. Pitches should focus on underreported issues like Native Title disputes, cultural heritage management, or gaps in Closing the Gap initiatives. For example, her Juukan Gorge coverage demonstrated how corporate compliance with heritage laws often prioritizes technical adherence over meaningful consultation.
She frequently examines how climate change and industrial expansion intersect with rural communities. Effective pitches might address invasive species management (e.g., her fire ant reporting), drought resilience strategies, or conflicts between mining projects and conservation efforts. Data-driven proposals with local stakeholder voices are preferred.
Her recent work on veterinary education reflects a growing interest in institutional inequities. Pitches could explore topics like rural healthcare access, vocational training gaps, or disability support systems. Solutions-oriented angles that highlight community-led initiatives are particularly compelling.
Wahlquist’s Deaths Inside project revolutionized data journalism in Australia by creating a publicly accessible database of Indigenous deaths in custody. The Walkley Foundation praised its “meticulous research and innovative presentation,” setting a new standard for accountability journalism. This award is particularly prestigious given the competitive field of 500+ entries annually.
Her Juukan Gorge reporting was described by judges as “a masterclass in investigative rigor.” It underscored the role of journalism in holding multinational corporations accountable, leading to significant policy changes within Rio Tinto and broader industry reforms.
“Projects like this take a huge amount of work. We are all incredibly grateful to Guardian Australia for giving us the time — months and months of time — to get it done.”
At PressContact, we aim to help you discover the most relevant journalists for your PR efforts. If you're looking to pitch to more journalists who write on Indigenous Affairs!, here are some other real estate journalist profiles you may find relevant: