Arts Minister pulls out of Labor’s state election race
The South Australian Arts Minister at the centre of the Writers’ Week storm is leaving politics, the third Minister to quit the government ahead of the state election.
Arts Minister Andrea Michaels is bowing out after the upcoming March state election with plans to return to practising law.
Michaels, who is also the Consumer and Business Affairs along with Small and Family Business Minister, announced today that she would be leaving politics.
She said the decision was not connected with the recent Writers’ Week controversy, Michaels saying she was considering leaving the government prior to the fiasco unfolding that led to the cancellation of this year’s event.
“It was just awful for the festival team going through that, it was awful for them. We’ve got a new board now and we move on,” Michaels said.
The festival board resigned after backlash to its decision to remove Sydney-born Palestinian author Randa Abdel-Fattah, leading to a mass exodus of authors and the event’s cancellation. Premier Peter Malinauskas had provided his written opinion that Abdel-Fattah should not be allowed to speak at the event but said it was a board decision.
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Michaels’ announcement comes after two other high-profile ministers announced they would be leaving government at the election, Treasurer Stephen Mulligan and Deputy Premier Susan Close.
Michaels would return to practising tax, commercial and succession planning at NDA Law that is jointly owned with her husband, Josh Michaels.
Among her achievements in parliament, Michaels listed the recent arts bill that was drafted to enshrine “freedom of artistic expression”.
The Arts, Culture and Creative Industries Bill, was introduced to state parliament in November 2025, but has not yet passed.
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It was meant to enshrine in legislation the role of the arts and to protect artists’ freedom of speech and independence from political interference.
The bill specifies “all artists, makers and creatives in South Australia have the right to freedom of artistic expression and creativity”.
“I knew it before and I absolutely know it now, we have to let that happen… there are parameters with what we have just had (around Writers’ Week) with some risk management and the board had to deal with that, no one is criticising that,” Michaels said.
The member for Enfield said she would support the Labor Party candidate pre-selected to battle for the seat, and she was looking forward to spending more time with her sons Charlie, 16, and Sebastian, 21.
Michaels also listed her work on achieving rental reforms and the small business strategy, along with the State Cultural Policy called ‘A Place to Create’, as major achievements.
Premier Peter Malinauskas said Michaels was elected in early 2019, then elevated to the shadow cabinet, serving in portfolios including Housing, Planning, Urban Development, Consumer and Business Affairs and Small and Family Business.
“She played an integral role in shaping Labor’s policy agenda across these portfolios in the lead up to the 2022 State Election,” he said.
“In government, she has been an outstanding minister, serving in the portfolios of arts, consumer and business affairs and small and family business, and driving reforms that will endure well beyond her parliamentary career.”
