Board chair joins resignations over Writers’ Week backlash
Adelaide Festival is in disarray after the board chair joined three board members to hand in their resignations after days of controversy over a Palestinian advocate being pulled from the Writers’ Week lineup.
Adelaide Festival Board chair Tracey Whiting has resigned following days of controversy over a board decision to pull a Palestinian advocate from this year’s Writers’ Week lineup, it is understood she informed the government on Sunday afternoon.
Cultural leader Whiting was appointed to the job by the Malinauskas government in 2023. She is a member of the Solstice Media board, was the former chair of the Art Gallery of South Australia and has been on the boards of the South Australian Museum, the National Museum of Australia and the Adelaide UNESCO City of Music.
Daniela Ritorto, Donny Walford and Nicholas Linke OAM have also resigned from their positions on the Adelaide Festival board, leaving only three board members and a government observer at the helm.
InDaily understands the three resigned after a board meeting held on Saturday afternoon. Their names were quietly removed from the Adelaide Festival Board webpage on Sunday.
An Adelaide Festival spokesperson confirmed to InDaily that the list of board members on its website was current, but did not comment on the changes.
“I have decided to resign as chair of the Adelaide Festival Board, effective immediately. Recent decisions were bound by certain undertakings, and my resignation enables the Adelaide Festival, as an organisation, to refresh its leadership and its approach to these circumstances,” Whiting said in a post on LinkedIn.
“My tenure as chair has been immensely enjoyable, as has working with the terrific AF team. I look forward to the future success of the Adelaide Festival.
I have no further comment.”
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It comes after the board announced on Thursday it had removed Sydney-born author and Palestinian advocate Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah from the Adelaide Writers’ Week lineup because it would not be “culturally sensitive” to program her so soon after the Bondi mass shooting.
The high-profile literary festival faces an uncertain future as 100 of 124 writers programmed have withdrawn in response to the board’s call.
A spokesperson for Arts Minister Andrea Michaels confirmed to InDaily that Michaels had received resignations from the chair and the three board members, which is a requirement under the act.
Daniela Ritorto is a former SBS journalist, a public speaker and media consultant. She is married to federal health minister Mark Butler.
Donny Walford is the managing director and founder of Behind Closed Doors, a leadership development company for women. She is also the chair of the SA Industry Skills Council, public safety and government – and has been a member of the ABC board.
Nicholas Linke is a lawyer who was awarded an Order of Australia medal in 2025 for service to arts administration and law. He is also the deputy chair of the Adelaide Central School of Art’s board of governors and holds other board positions.
Ritorto and Walford both declined to comment when contacted by InDaily. Linke was also contacted for comment.
Chair Tracey Whiting AM is still listed on the Adelaide Festival website at the time of writing, along with remaining board members Leesa Chesser, Brenton Cox Adelaide City Council representative Mary Couros, and government observer Dr Jennifer Fuller.
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The news comes as Abdel-Fattah’s lawyers wrote to Whiting requesting the board identify with specificity what contributed to their decision, requesting documentation by January 14.
“Please ensure that your organisation and each individual member of the board retains all documents in their possession (including emails, text messages and content on disappearing messaging apps) that relate to the decision to exclude Dr Abdel-Fattah,” the letter from Abdel-Fattah’s lawyers said, which she shared to social media platform X.
“You are each now on notice that these documents may be required for the purposes of litigation.”
Premier Peter Malinauskas has backed the board’s decision to remove Abdel-Fattah, repeating on Sunday that the decision should be consistent with the board’s 2024 decision to remove a Jewish writer from the line-up.
The Jewish writer Thomas Friedman did not participate in the 2024 Adelaide Writers’ Week program due to “scheduling issues”, a letter revealed after Premier Peter Malinauskas said the Jewish writer was “cancelled”.
Malinauskas on Sunday stood firm that though “there’s a suggestion that was a scheduling issue”, Friedman’s lack of attendance was still relevant.
“Call it what you like, after the correspondence from Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah, they removed the pro-Jewish Israeli speaker.
“Then fast forward two years, and I think it’s reasonable for the board to apply the same principle.”
Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis weighed in on social media platform X, responding to a user who questioned why the Premier was “lying”.
Koutsantonis replied saying, “We will see who is saying things that aren’t accurate. Especially about rescheduling.”
*Editor’s Note: The chair of the Adelaide Festival Tracey Whiting AM is also a director of Solstice Media, publisher of InDaily.
