La Trobe and the Bendigo Writers Festival

Clare Wright says La Trobe lacked “moral courage” over the collapse of the Bendigo Writers Festival and has still not apologized or explained its actions. Dr Rosemary Sorensen reports.

Professor Clare Wright spoke publicly with a shaky voice but with clarity and conviction. La Trobe Universitylack “moral courage” He chose to do so before the collapse of the Bendigo Writers Festival and just one day after the Bondi anti-Semitic murders. That’s what he did, he said Fiona Parker on ABC Radio Central Victoria because, as a Jew from Australia, he refused to watch her work. “Pro-Palestinian friends” It was undermined by the weaponisation of what happened at Bondi.

On Monday 15 December, the City of Greater Bendigo council voted to suspend the Festival in 2026 to prepare for a new start in 2027.

Wright, who curates LTU’s events within the program as a key part of the university’s long-standing partnership with the council-run Festival, told Parker on Tuesday morning.

“I salute Bendigo council’s decision to save the Festival… it’s the right thing.”

For the first time, he revealed how Vice-Chancellor Theo Farrell “escalated” his response to a letter from 5A Zionist academics complaining about the presence of Randa Abdel Fattah in the August programme. Wright described La Trobe’s actions before and after the Festival boycott by more than 50 writers as “inadequate”.

Although La Trobe University only said in a public statement: “Lessons learned”Their investigation has not yet been concluded and no apology has been made to the writers, the La Trobe team, the council or the people of Bendigo.

Newly elected Mayor Thomas Prince was interviewed by Fiona Parker on ABC Central Victoria during the early hours of her radio show on Tuesday morning. He was asked whether La Trobe University had apologized for escalating demands on writers and for including a specific request in its hastily drafted Code of Conduct to comply with the controversial definition of antisemitism (which includes voicing support for Palestine).

The prince said:

“I didn’t get anything. The city didn’t get anything. As part of the (CoGB) process…all stakeholders had a chance to contribute…They (LTU) didn’t do that.”

I attended a roundtable discussion organized by Bendigo as part of their process and from that meeting I determined that the Bendigo Writers Festival, which I founded and ran from 2011 to 2023, should be reviewed even if 2025 does not end in disaster. It was clear that the stress of the COVID years had reached a critical point when I had to deal with both financial and capacity pressures for Bendigo Venues and Events staff (as I was working on a semi-voluntary basis).

One of the great advantages the festival had in its first decade was that I could rely on the resources of BV&E as well as La Trobe University. They trusted and trusted me as a programmer. The council intervened in the program only once (although this was a very specific situation and put a strain on the relationship). There was an open discussion about the roles of La Trobe and the city, first with Robert Manne, then with Clare Wright and several former Campus Directors in Bendigo. I worked hard to meet the expectations of the university because I have always valued collaboration: this opened up the possibility of bringing influential, experienced, respected and brilliant researchers and writers to this proud regional city, and also provided a kind of window into the blue sky through which these writers could rest from the self-reflective white noise of Melbourne. Regional areas invite open-minded thinking. This can invite and result in a higher quality discussion.

We had some really great events at the Bendigo Writers Festival, that’s the truth.

The pleasing thing about the review carried out by CoGB is that nearly 900 responses were received and it is clear that these are in favor of continuing the Festival. While there are those in the council, and perhaps in the community, who consider writers’ festivals to be a waste of money, there appears to be an understanding of the non-commercial value of books, writings and the discussions they stimulate.

I had to chuckle when I heard the well-spoken Thomas Prince say that there were concerns about the financial sustainability of the way the Festival was going. “entertains many locals, it’s great”but how to attract visitors should be part of the sustainability model. I chuckled because this is certainly one of the biggest tensions for any Festival director and management, balancing the expectations of locals with the city’s emphasis and need for tourism.

Something Clare Wright said gave me pause, too. Last week I was asked by ABC regional radio about the possibility of La Trobe University continuing its involvement, before the Council voted on a proposal to continue the Festival. I was negative due to the damage they caused and their lack of blame so far. Clare, by contrast, saw a future for his University and collaboration with a City in which they played an important role. La Trobe reiterated: “Looking at the wrong risks” and fail “show moral courage”What happened in Bendigo has not yet been revealed.

But he still believes he can be saved.

He said: