Statement from the Australia Institute withdrawing from Adelaide festival.
Personal statement withdrawing from the Festival.
Following the decision from the Board of the Adelaide Festival, The Australia Institute is withdrawing its support from this year’s literary festival. Here is our statement, and a personal one from me.
As a former Director of Adelaide Writers' Week I am appalled that the Adelaide Festival Board has rescinded Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah's invitation to the 2026 AWW, explicitly linking its decision to the shattering crimes in Bondi.
A shocking decision that will and should have far-reaching consequences.
I will be withdrawing from two panels I was to chair at Adelaide Writers Week 2026. I stand in solidarity with Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah, and other Palestinian Australian writers. I urge all writers to do the same. Watch out for statements from SA mob. www.adelaidefestival.com.au/news/2025/ad...
Well, I was going to be on a panel at the Adelaide Writers' Festival but I'm not any more.
Statement from the Australia Institute announcing its withdrawal of support and sponsored events from the Adelaide Writers’ Festival
Statement from Amy Remeikis withdrawing from Adelaide Writers’ Festival
I stand with Randa and everyone standing against hate, genocide, oppression and terror. In all its forms.
What Australian outlets edited out of the opening of Kerry O'Brien's Walkley Awards speech on press freedom:
(The full speech is here: www.walkleys.com/dont-kid-you...)
women who are offended to be called people, gosh
Voices Under Fire: Stories from Gaza
Join me at this event on 6 November to bear witness to the lives of Gazans experiencing genocide. For one night, we'll come together as a community to read the poetry and first-hand accounts of Palestinians who have had to flee their homeland, those who have…
Fourth item in @meadea.bsky.social 's Weekly Beast column today which kinda shows how much China has fallen from the headlines!
www.theguardian.com/media/commen...
Oh I missed this yesterday - ABC will finally have a China correspondent again, 5 years after Bill Birtles was forced out. Allyson Horn is the new Beijing corro.
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08...
Also we've got an online panel this Thursday on what the media landscape will look like leading up to the SA state election next year.
Speakers are Pas Forgione (APNSA), Rebecca Tooher (@sacoss.bsky.social) and journo @waltermarsh.bsky.social
Thu 28 Aug, 12-1pm SA time via Zoom, DM for the link
Calling change-makers in Adelaide: We're running free media spokesperson training in Sept/Oct! Interested? Apply before Tue 26 Aug: www.tfaforms.com/4896630
Adelaide folks, we're running free media spokesperson training in Sept/Oct! Interested? Apply before Tue 26 Aug: www.tfaforms.com/4896630
Exclusive | Speakers are boycotting the Bendigo Writers Festival after receiving a code of conduct from event organisers that required “compliance” with a controversial definition of antisemitism.
I know many in the media and culture industries have been anxious watching the silencing and intimidation of workers who've spoken out for Palestine. I hope this video reassures you that you're supported by your comrades across the industry. Fight every way you can, hold strong together.
In the time it took to edit this video, Israel killed 6 more Palestinian journalists from the Al Jazeera team. These are targeted attacks to stop the truth getting out, to kill all witnesses.
The music here is 'Witness', composed by Connor D’Netto and performed by Jayson Gillham.
Israel has killed 180 Palestinian journalists since Oct 2023. There are 120 of us in this video remembering our slain Palestinian colleagues - it's staggering to see so many faces and realise more than this number have been killed.
#StopKillingJournalists #SanctionIsraelNow
meaa.io/45A4vZ5
Over 100 journalists from every outlet you can think of are in this video.
Journalists care about the truth and about our brave colleagues in Gaza.
It's the bosses who have let us all down.
Join your union.
In the time it took to edit this video, Israel killed 6 more Palestinian journalists from the Al Jazeera team. Most of these are targeted killings to stop the truth getting out.
Israel has killed 180 Palestinian journalists since Oct 2023. There are 120 of us in this video remembering our slain Palestinian colleagues - it's staggering to see so many faces and realise that more than this number of media workers have been killed.
#StopKillingJournalists #SanctionIsraelNow
One of the many devastating things about making this video was that we had to update it about three times during the making to account for further killings of journalists, including (you'll see at the end) a special mention of the 6 Al Jazeera journalists targeted by Israel. Please watch to the end.
Four Al Jazeera staff, including reporter Anas Al Sharif, were killed in an Israeli attack on a tent for journalists outside the main gate of Gaza's al-Shifa hospital aje.io/onll19
BBC International Editor Jeremy Bowen has confirmed that the entire Al Jazeera team in Gaza City has been killed.
🚨 A new report into unlawful Centrelink payment cancellations is out!
The Ombudsman has raised concerns about whether payment suspensions happen "fairly and reasonably" with @caitkelly.bsky.social
Tune in to ABC RN to hear from @squigglyrick.bsky.social
apcentre.substack.com/p/damning-om...
Unwelcome? This is literally your policies working as designed.
So we've got an antisemitism report that starts with references to instances of antisemitism that didn't actually happen. And that fails to mention dozens of cases across Oz where people were fired/cancelled/lost work for criticising Israeli war crimes or wearing keffiyeh or simply being Arab.
Anyway back to the Segal report on antisemitism. The foreword mentions hate-filled chants outside the Sydney Opera House - wasn't this disproven? After initial investigations by Antoinette Lattouf and Cam Wilson at @crikey.com.au? And then the ABC unfairly dismissed Lattouf later that same month?
And POC diasporas are always held collectively responsible for the actions of their presumed "homeland" even if they have no actual connection to it. This is racist, yes - but it's the reality for all of us. And idk, I think it's also an opportunity for solidarity and learning.
