Resources Minister Madeleine King backs Adelaide Festival’s decision to drop Australian-Palestinian writer from lineup

A federal government minister has backed a decision by board members of the popular Adelaide Writer’s Festival after Palestinian writer Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah was sensationally axed from the festival’s lineup.

Dr Abdel-Fattah had been scheduled to appear at the event following the release of her 2025 book Discipline, but was advised last week she would no longer take part in the 2026 event.

The author had been criticised over her comments about Israel and the October 7, 2023 terror attacks, prompting the board to withdraw her from the festival for “culturally sensitive” reasons after the deadly Bondi shootings.

Federal Resources Minister Madeleine King on Monday weighed in on the debate - telling the ABC she was surprised by Dr Abdel-Fattah’s invitation to the event and she should “absolutely not” be invited back.

“I’ve seen the comments that the author in question made, and to be frank, in my own opinion, I’m surprised she ever got an invite to the Adelaide Writers’ Festival,” she said.

Acting Shadow Minister for Education, Early Learning and the Arts Jonno Duniam agreed, telling reporters he had “absolutely no sympathy” for Dr Abdel-Fattah and it was the correct decision.

“This is a person who encouraged children to publicly chant ‘intifada’, who was cited as saying that ‘Jews should feel uncomfortable’, who wished for 2025 to see ‘the end of Israel’, who reportedly boasted about ‘bending rules’ on spend of taxpayer grants, and whose own university conceded she made antisemitic statements,” he said.

“The systemic antisemitism in the arts and cultural sector is extremely well-documented and in urgent need of correction, and the time for tolerating and funding antisemitic narratives is long past.”

In a statement last week, the board said while they did not suggest in any way that Dr Abdel-Fattah or her writings had any connection with the Bondi tragedy, they found it would it would not be culturally sensitive to continue to program her at this unprecedented time.

The Macquarie University academic responded calling the decision “obscene” and “racist”.

She claimed saying the board stripped her of her humanity and agency.

“The Board’s reasoning suggest that my mere presence is ‘culturally insensitive’; that I, a Palestinian who had nothing to do with the Bondi atrocity, am somehow a trigger for those in mourning and that I should therefore be persona non grata in cultural circles because of my very presence as a Palestinian is threatening and ‘unsafe,’” she said in a statement.

The controversial decision has seen dozens of speakers pull out of the event including authors Jane Caro, Trent Dalton, Kathy Lette, Peter Greste and Peter FitzSimons.

Several board members have also quit in the wake of the fallout.