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Palestinian-Australian author and academic Randa Abdel-Fattah has announced that her lawyers have issued a formal concerns notice under Australia’s Defamation Act to South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas, following weeks of public controversy surrounding her exclusion from Adelaide Writers’ Week.
In a statement published on social media, Abdel-Fattah said the legal step was taken after what she described as sustained misrepresentation and political targeting by the premier. “My lawyers have today issued a concerns notice under the Defamation Act on Premier Malinauskas,” she wrote. “This is his opportunity to undo some of the harm he has inflicted, and stop punching down.”
The move comes after Adelaide Writers’ Week was abruptly cancelled earlier this month amid mounting backlash over the festival board’s decision to exclude Abdel-Fattah from the programme. The board later issued a public apology to the author, acknowledging that the way the decision had been represented caused harm and confusion.
READ: Bondi Beach attack: How the media smears pro-Palestine protests while erasing a Muslim hero
The controversy triggered a wave of protest across Australia’s literary community, with prominent writers and speakers withdrawing in solidarity and accusing political leaders of fuelling a climate of intimidation against Palestinian and Muslim voices. Abdel-Fattah, a long-standing advocate for Palestinian rights, has faced repeated public attacks for her criticism of Israel’s assault on Gaza.
At least 118 writers withdrew or cancelled their participation in protest, condemning the exclusion of Abdel-Fattah. Instead of reversing the move, organisers cancelled Adelaide Writers’ Week altogether, shutting down one of Australia’s most prominent cultural events amid mounting pressure linked to pro-Israel lobbying.
In comments shared online, Abdel-Fattah accused South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas of launching a smear campaign against her based on information from biased sources. “He knows nothing about me, beyond what he has been told by the Murdoch press and the pro-Israel lobby, which he has apparently accepted without question,” she said.
Abdel-Fattah condemned the Premier’s comments linking her to violent extremism. “He made a public statement that suggested I am an extremist terrorist sympathiser and directly linked me to the Bondi atrocity,” she wrote.
She described the premier’s actions as “a vicious personal assault on me, a private citizen, by the highest public official in South Australia,” and stated clearly: “It was defamatory and it terrified me.”
Asserting her right to defend herself, she declared: “I am a human being, not a punching bag.” She confirmed her legal team had issued a formal concerns notice under Australia’s Defamation Act and called on Malinauskas to take responsibility: “This is his opportunity to undo some of the harm he has inflicted, and stop punching down.”
READ: Festival of cowardice: The cancellation of Randa Abdel-Fattah
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