acting leader of the Australian Greens and Arts spokesperson, Senator Sarah Hanson-Young:
“The cancellation of the beloved Adelaide Writer’s Week is a dark day for the arts in South Australia and now the future of the Adelaide Festival as whole hangs in the balance.
“Premier Peter Malinauskas must apologise for his intervention which has helped lead to this fiasco.
“Writer’s Week has been cancelled and the whole of the Adelaide Festival Board has now resigned, this is a complete mess that could have been avoided had there not been undue political influence exerted on the board.
“This is a devastating outcome for the authors and audiences who love Writer’s Week. As we face major challenges in the world it is important that we have spaces like Writer’s Week where people can come together to discuss ideas and disagree in a civil manner.
“Premier Peter Malinauskas’ political meddling has destroyed Writer’s Week and now risks derailing the whole of the Adelaide Festival. It is up to the Premier to fix this mess before the Adelaide Festival collapses and South Australia loses thousands of jobs and tens of millions of dollars in economic activity.
“As Louise Adler has warned, Writer’s Week is the canary in the coalmine. It’s now up to all of us to fight for artistic freedom and resist the censorship of our artistic institutions.”