A letter from South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas has been made public, showing he strongly urged the Adelaide Festival board to cancel Palestinian author Randa Abdel-Fattah’s appearance at the 2026 Adelaide Writers’ Week.
In the letter, written days before her exclusion, the premier warned that the festival risked public ridicule and accusations of hypocrisy if it kept her on the program, especially after the Bondi terror attack.
The board removed Ms Abdel-Fattah six days later and later cancelled the entire event.
In a three-page letter to the board’s now former chair, Tracey Whiting, Mr Malinauskas detailed his reasons for opposing Ms Abdel-Fattah’s inclusion.
“The conflict between Israel and Palestine evokes exceptionally strong and polarising views and emotions,” the premier wrote in the letter.
“Freedom of speech is fundamental to Australia’s democratic society and any Australian is entitled to express their views on this conflict, including their strong opposition and condemnation of the views or actions of involved parties. However, I am of the view that the statements and actions attributed to Dr Abdel-Fattah go beyond reasonable public debate.
“I am surprised at the decision by Adelaide Writers’ Week to give a platform to this author and deeply concerned that the Board is not prepared to remove her appearance from the program, particularly in light of current circumstances, the national mood and need for social cohesion following the Bondi terror attack.”
Adelaide Festival has apologised unreservedly. Vindication
— Randa Abdel-Fattah (@RandaAFattah) January 15, 2026
My response. pic.twitter.com/8mqm7xGAKH
He stated that the government would not hesitate to publicly criticise Ms Abdel-Fattah’s inclusion at Writers’ Week.
“I will also make it clear that I believe that the Board’s failure to remove Dr Abdel-Fattah from the program following the Bondi terror attack, would be contrary to the Board’s broader responsibility to the Adelaide Festival and Adelaide Writers’ Week,” the premier wrote in a letter which was published by
The Palestinian author’s lawyer has described the premier’s intervention as coercive and disturbing, accusing him of undermining the board’s independence.
“Despite his repeated public protestations that he did not do so, his letter is obviously coercive and would have left the Board feeling it had no choice but to comply,” Michael Bradley said in a statement.
“Their independence apparently meant little to him, and it should be remembered that his government appoints the Board and provides most of the Festival’s funding.”
He also said that the premier had “explicitly” linked Ms Abdel-Fattah to the Bondi terrorist attack despite the fact that she “had nothing to do with Bondi”, The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
Last week, Ms Abdel-Fattah said her lawyers had issued a concerns notice threatening defamation proceedings against the South Australian premier, describing parts of his commentary as a “vicious personal assault”.
