South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas is standing firm in his refusal to apologise to Palestinian-Australian author Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah, following a major controversy over her removal from the Adelaide Writers' Festival program.
Festival's Reversal and Premier's Defiance
The Adelaide Festival board issued a significant apology to Dr Abdel-Fattah earlier this week and re-invited her to speak at the event in 2027. This came after the board initially cut her from the 2026 program, declaring it would be "culturally insensitive" to feature her "so soon after Bondi". This was a reference to the December massacre at Bondi Beach that targeted a Jewish event.
However, Premier Malinauskas has made it clear he does not support the board's decision to reinvite the author. "My position is consistent, the views that I put are based on fact, and principle and the facts have now been proven, and my principle hasn't changed," Malinauskas stated at a press conference in Port Lincoln.
When asked if he owed Abdel-Fattah an apology for comments made earlier in the week, the Premier responded bluntly: "Me? What for?"
Legal Action and Allegations of Defamation
In response to the Premier's stance, Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah has launched defamation proceedings against him. She claims his comments labelled her "an extremist terrorist sympathiser" and directly linked her to the Bondi attack.
"This was a vicious personal assault on me, a private citizen, by the highest public official in South Australia," Abdel-Fattah said. "It was defamatory and it terrified me. Enough is enough, I am a human being, not a punching bag."
A legal fund established to support her case attracted half of its $100,000 target within hours of being launched.
Community Reactions and a Divided Response
The decision has sparked intense debate, revealing deep divisions within community and cultural circles.
The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) president, Nasser Mashni, condemned the initial axing as "anti-Palestinian racism". "When a Palestinian writer is singled out and removed from a public platform because of who she is and what she represents, that is racism," Mashni told 7NEWS.com.au.
Within the Jewish community, opinions are split. Former Adelaide Festival board director Louise Adler, a Jewish woman and daughter of Holocaust survivors, resigned in protest over the decision to remove Abdel-Fattah. "I cannot be party to silencing writers," Adler stated, framing the incident as a "watershed moment" and "an act of cultural vandalism".
Conversely, Adelaide Jewish Leader Norman Schueler supported the original decision to axe Abdel-Fattah, stating the previous board had acted with "courage and moral clarity".
The controversy continues to raise fundamental questions about free speech, cultural sensitivity, and political responsibility in Australia's arts landscape.
