SA premier denies pressuring Adelaide festival to drop Randa Abdel-Fattah | Peter Malinauskas

The South Australian premier has refused to pressure the Adelaide festival board not to invite Randa Abdel-Fattah to speak at Adelaide Writers’ Week and reiterated his agreement with the decision.

The board on Thursday dismissed a Palestinian Australian academic as a speaker following the Bondi attack, citing “cultural sensitivity”.

“By law, I, as Prime Minister, am prevented from leading the Board of Directors,” said Peter Malinauskas. “I support the intent of this legislation and have made clear at every opportunity that I will not seek to manipulate the board.

“However, when asked for my opinion, I was happy to make it clear that the state government did not support Dr Abdel-Fattah’s inclusion in the Adelaide Writers’ Week programme.”

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On Saturday, 11 prominent cultural figures wrote a letter to Malinauskas and his board of directors, demanding Abdel Fattah’s reinstatement.

The letter was drafted by Rob Brookman, who has held nearly every major leadership role at the festival for three decades, including artistic director and executive director.

All 10 co-signers, including Neil Armfield, Jo Dyer, Jim Sharman and Anthony Steel, have previously held senior artistic or administrative roles at the festival.

The letter stated that canceling Abdülfettah’s participation was a serious mistake that damaged the reputation of the festival and Writers’ Week.

“A return would be a shame, but it would be the right thing to do and would undo the growing damage being done to this much-loved and internationally significant South Australian cultural institution,” the letter said.

“To cancel [Abdel-Fattah’s] The invitation inevitably and horrifyingly draws a direct link between his presence and the fury of the Bondi massacre.

“Evil thrives in darkness, prejudice thrives in ignorance born of silence. Open discussion of ideas, beliefs, facts and opinions is ultimately the path to community harmony. Silencing and censorship are not.”

The letter also questioned why the board had dropped its support for Louise Adler, director of Adelaide Writers’ Week, which was scheduled to hold its fourth festival from February 28 to March 4.

In 2023, Adler advocated for the inclusion of several Palestinian speakers; two of which came under fire for controversial comments made ahead of the festival.

On opening night that year, Malinauskas said he was under great pressure to cut funding for Writers’ Week, but decided it would set a dangerous precedent if a government determined who was allowed to speak.

“Which path does this take us?” he said then. “This is a path to a future where politicians will decide what is culturally appropriate… It is, in effect, a path that leads us into Putin’s Russian territory.”

Saturday’s letter said: “The festival board’s previous support for the director’s decisions in the face of vocal and well-organized opposition was admirable… The board’s reversal of principled support for the director and his program this time is, in our view, contrary to what the festival and writers’ week are and should represent.”

The festival management and Adler were contacted for comment.