Adelaide festival reinstates invitation to Randa Abdel-Fattah to speak at writers’ week
The Adelaide festival has reinstated its invitation to Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah to Adelaide writers’ week and issued an unreserved apology amid the firestorm over the decision to remove her from its program.
The festival said in a statement:
On 8 January 2026 the Adelaide Festival Corporation published a statement announcing that it had decided to exclude Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah from participating as a speaker at Adelaide Writers’ Week this year. We stated that this was because it would be culturally insensitive to allow her to participate.
We retract that statement. We have reversed the decision and will reinstate Dr Abdel-Fattah’s invitation to speak at the next Adelaide Writers’ Week in 2027. We apologise to Dr Abdel-Fattah unreservedly for the harm the Adelaide Festival Corporation has caused her.
Intellectual and artistic freedom is a powerful human right. Our goal is to uphold it, and in this instance Adelaide Festival Corporation fell well short.
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Updated at 19.37 EST
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Abdel-Fattah accepts apology, but says it won’t be a ‘quick fix’ to repair damage done
Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah has already responded to the Adelaide festival, saying she accepts the apology in a comment on Instagram.
I accept this apology as acknowledgment of our right to speak publicly and truthfully about the atrocities that have been committed against the Palestinian people.
I accept this apology as a vindication of our collective solidarity and mobilisation against anti-Palestinian racism, bullying and censorship.
She said she would consider the invitation to speak at the 2027 event, but said she would be there in a “heartbeat if Louise Adler was the director again”. Abdel-Fattah added it was not a “quick fix to repair the damage and injury inflicted,” however.
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Updated at 19.48 EST
Adelaide festival reinstates invitation to Randa Abdel-Fattah to speak at writers’ week
The Adelaide festival has reinstated its invitation to Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah to Adelaide writers’ week and issued an unreserved apology amid the firestorm over the decision to remove her from its program.
The festival said in a statement:
On 8 January 2026 the Adelaide Festival Corporation published a statement announcing that it had decided to exclude Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah from participating as a speaker at Adelaide Writers’ Week this year. We stated that this was because it would be culturally insensitive to allow her to participate.
We retract that statement. We have reversed the decision and will reinstate Dr Abdel-Fattah’s invitation to speak at the next Adelaide Writers’ Week in 2027. We apologise to Dr Abdel-Fattah unreservedly for the harm the Adelaide Festival Corporation has caused her.
Intellectual and artistic freedom is a powerful human right. Our goal is to uphold it, and in this instance Adelaide Festival Corporation fell well short.
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Updated at 19.37 EST
Jordyn Beazley
NSW police have ‘contingencies in place’ for Australia Day protests
Returning to the NSW police assistant commissioner, Peter McKenna, for a moment, who spoke earlier about the protest restrictions currently in place.
He has said that police will have “contingencies in place” to work with “various public assemblies on Australia Day”, regardless of whether there is a declaration still in place banning the form 1 system.
He said that the police commissioner, Mal Lanyon, will make a decision closer to the 20 January when that declaration due to expire, if it should be extended for another 14 days. The commissioner has the power to extend the declaration for 14 days increments for up to three months.
McKenna said:
I can’t talk for what the commissioner will do at the end of this 14 day mark, which is the 20th of January, and I’m sure the commissioner himself will be waiting until right up until that point, just to see and assess the community tension, the social cohesion.
Australia Day falls outside of that. At the moment, we are working with the organisers for various public assemblies on Australia Day, and we’ll have different contingencies in place to work with them, regardless of whether there is a declaration. So I know it’s not exactly the most clear cut legislation, but we’ve worked with it. We’re working the legislation we’re given right now.
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Updated at 19.31 EST
Petra Stock
Lower river Murray listed as critically endangered under national environment laws
The federal government has listed the lower reaches of the Murray river, including the Coorong, as critically endangered under Australia’s national environment laws – the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
The environment minister, Murray Watt, said:
This listing covers the waterways, the wetlands, floodplains, and vegetation of the River Murray, downstream from its intersection with the Darling River in New South Wales, and includes the iconic Coorong lagoon.
The listing provides important recognition that despite the efforts of governments and communities, the lower Murray remains under great stress, and that we need to do more to protect it and restore it.
A healthy Murray river is crucial for our environment, for agriculture, tourism and local communities.
The listing will require government action to restore the river, and greater assessment of new developments that could impact on the river environment.
Watt also announced the first round of a $20m grants program to support river communities in South Australia.
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Updated at 19.14 EST
Wong says Australians can see ‘the Liberals and the Nationals never put Australia first’
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, is speaking in South Australia. She said the proposed legislation after the Bondi attack addressed both hate speech and gun control, calling it legislation that has been subject to a “great deal of attention”.
Wong pointed to Ley’s insistence for weeks that parliament be recalled, saying her concerns now reflected a changing of tune:
It’s important. We know why it’s important. Yet we see from the Liberal and National parties nothing more than weakness, nothing more than hypocrisy.
Now we have legislation that is directly addressing what we know was part of the call from the Jewish community and others for stronger protections in the aftermath of Bondi. And now, the Liberal Party and the National Party have changed their tune. Instead, they want to delay. Well, I think Australians can see what is happening and Australians can see that the Liberals and the Nationals never put Australia first.
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Updated at 18.58 EST
Melissa Davey
NSW Health issues immediate recall for hand sanitiser containing toxic methanol
NSW Health said people must immediately stop using Dr Schwartz Hand Sanitiser after a product recall by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
Dr Schwartz Hand Sanitiser contains methanol, which is highly toxic if ingested, causing serious and irreversible injuries or death, prompting the recall. Significant toxicity from skin exposure is unlikely.
High concentrations of methanol are not permitted in alcohol-based hand sanitiser or any product used by the public.
The product was supplied to guests as a complimentary hand sanitiser at the Paradise Resort, Gold Coast, Queensland from 31 August 2020 to 6 January 2026.
NSW Health said if it is suspected someone has swallowed the hand sanitiser, the Poisons Information Centre should be called immediately on 13 11 26.
NSW Health said it can be disposed of in the general waste.
“NSW Health recommends all alcohol-based hand sanitiser products are stored safely and out of reach of children,” the department of health said in a statement. “Additionally, when these products are used by young children, it should be under the supervision of an adult.”
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Updated at 18.55 EST
Carveout for quoting religious texts among Coalition’s main concerns
Ley said one of her main concerns is the carveout for quoting religious texts, which could become a defence for those accused of breaching the new hate speech laws.
The opposition leader characterised the inclusion as a loophole that would become a “carefully planned excuse for hate preachers”.
Guardian Australia’s Krishani Dhanji has more on that proposal here:
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Updated at 18.43 EST
Ley: ‘They have taken a month to deliver this bad bill’
Ley is both criticising the government for taking too long to recall parliament – noting she wanted lawmakers back before Christmas – and saying Albanese is rushing too quickly into the proposed legislation:
They have taken a month to deliver this bad bill. Now, had they listened to us which they should have in the weeks after Bondi, we could already have had a package introduced into the parliament with the necessary parliamentary scrutiny already under way with a month to have had that inquiry, that scrutiny, and that submission.
We should have had the opportunity to introduce our measures which we will seek to do when the parliament does return and which we announced weeks ago and we know are the best response to the Bondi terror attack.
Ley said the Coalition was not consulted in the lead-up to the legislation’s introduction. Albanese said this morning he has met with her weekly.
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Updated at 18.33 EST
Ley says legislation looks ‘unsalvageable’
Ley said the opposition would continue to look at the proposed legislation, but said from the Coalition’s eyes, it didn’t look good:
Now, the opposition will continue to scrutinise this legislation carefully, but from what we have seen so far, it looks pretty unsalvageable. As it stands, the government’s proposal is half-baked and Australians deserve far better.
She said the Coalition would work to advance its own package of “practical” measures.
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‘Community cannot possibly have confidence’ in hate speech bill, says Ley
Ley is pointing to concerns with what she calls “flaws” in the bill, saying it would not adequately address antisemitism and include loopholes by including carveouts for the reading of religious text.
She said:
What the bill does is clumsily try to address hate speech and control firearms.
Our job is to pass laws that contain clear offences for courts and police to use. Instead, the flaws in this bill will add confusion and delay in the charging and sentencing of terrorist offenders. We are being asked to consider sweeping powers, yet the government has not been able to explain how key provisions would operate in practice and what conduct would actually be captured.
If the government can’t explain how the legislation will work, the parliament can’t be expected to vote for it and the community cannot possibly have confidence in it.
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Updated at 18.24 EST
Opposition leader has ‘extremely serious concerns’ about hate speech legislation
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, is speaking now in Melbourne, saying the Coalition had “extremely serious concerns” about the government’s legislation on hate speech and gun reform.
She said:
I want to be extremely clear today: the opposition has extremely serious concerns about the government’s legislation. The legislation does not address the real issues that gave rise to the Bondi attack.
It doesn’t address Islamic extremism. It doesn’t address Isis influence. And it doesn’t address the rise of antisemitism and the terrorist threat in Australia.
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Updated at 18.20 EST
Jordyn Beazley
NSW police will have ‘a few hundred police ready to go tomorrow’ amid anticipated protest
The NSW police assistant commissioner, Peter McKenna, is speaking in Sydney, confirming what the anti-protest declaration – made in the wake of the Bondi terror attack – means for two protests that are planned to take place this weekend.
Pro-Palestine groups are planning an event at Sydney Town Hall on Friday at 6pm. Another protest is being planned in Hyde Park on Sunday against Aboriginal deaths in custody.
McKenna said police will only be able to exercise their move on powers if the protesters do not remain static in those locations, and commit an offence under the summary offences act such as obstructing traffic if they choose to march along the street. It’s unclear if the protesters plan to march or will remain static.
McKenna said:
So what the declaration means is that we’re not accepting form 1s at the moment. Form 1s give people protection from the summary offenses [act]. That means that people can’t be prosecuted for impeding vehicles, blocking roadways, people on the footpaths, those sort of things. When there’s no form 1s in place. It means you cannot block pedestrians, block footpaths, block roadways, march down streets, that sort of thing.
So it really does mean that people can still have free speech, people can still gather in a park or somewhere that they’re not impeding people, and have free speech as they’ve always been able to do.
Since these declarations have come into place, we’ve had 25 static protests.
Asked how police would react if the protesters do “break the law by marching in the streets” he said:
I’m hoping that people don’t do that, I’m hoping that they understand that it is illegal at the moment … having said that, we will be there in forces … and if we have to make arrests, we will make arrests, but that’s not what we’re looking for.
The Sydney CBD, we expect protest activity, we’ve always said that. We will have a few hundred police ready to go tomorrow, and we can surge and pivot resources from wherever we need to.
McKenna maintained that the NSW police force was not a political organisation, but said the agency was focused on safety:
At the end of the day it is all about public safety for us, bus also understanding we have just come off the back of the most horrific terrorist incident that Australia has ever seen and it’s time to bring that community tension down.
We’re empathetic to people’s views and understand they still want to come out and have free speech. That can be achieved but just have to listen to us, work with us.
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Updated at 18.42 EST
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, is expected to speak any moment. We’ll bring you live updates from that event.
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Updated at 18.06 EST
ACT police warn multiple pipe bombs found on public paths
ACT police issued warnings last night that multiple dangerous pipe bombs have been found on public paths in the Belconnen area this week.
Officials said over the last two days, police responded to reports of several pipe bombs in the vicinity of Lake Ginninderra in Belconnen. The ABC reports police have found 11 of the devices so far.
Anyone who finds a suspicious item should not touch it and immediately call triple zero.
While there is no information or reports to suggest that these pipe bombs are currently in other parts of Canberra, police are urging any Canberrans to report suspicious items that match the description of a pipe bomb to police.
In the last two days, police responded to reports of several pipe bombs, as seen in this image from ACT police. Photograph: ACT PolicingShare
Updated at 18.07 EST
Tom McIlroy
Greens look to be key in any hate speech and gun reforms
The Greens look set to be in the hot seat when parliament resumes on Monday to consider the government’s hate speech and gun law reform plans.
Concerns from the Coalition about the plan mean Labor will need a deal with the minor party to progress the legislation through the Senate on Tuesday.
Any legislation that does not have Coalition support needs votes from the Greens’ 10 senators to pass the upper house.
Greens leader, Larissa Waters, and Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP
Greens MPs met on Wednesday to start considering the bill but they are yet to finalise scrutiny of all its provisions and have flagged plans to move amendments, including possibly to protect freedom of political expression.
While prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has slammed the Coalition for opposing laws they demanded be urgently passed in the wake of the Bondi terror attack on 14 December, he said on Thursday the government was serious about considering amendments from other parties to get the bill through as soon as possible.
The Greens say they also want to be constructive in negotiations with the government.
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, is due to speak about the bill from Melbourne at 10am.
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Updated at 17.40 EST
Shadow home affairs minister details Coalition’s concerns with hate speech bills
Jonno Duniam, the shadow home affairs minister, spent the morning justifying the Coalition’s frustration with the “rushed” timeline behind the hate speech legislation and proposed gun reforms.
Duniam spoke to ABC News Breakfast saying:
The first concern we have is the fact that this is a rushed process. … This is one of the biggest changes to free speech laws in the last 50 or 60 years. So we can’t take this lightly, we have to take it seriously.
Doing this within a seven day period, because we only received the legislation Monday night, the government want this legislation that they drafted with no input from anyone else outside of government passed by next Wednesday. It’s a very short turnaround for massive changes which will have massive consequences for freedom of speech.
He went on to say that as far as the opposition can tell, the bill does not go far enough to address antisemitism and “stamping out Islamic extremism”.
The government have dropped the ball here. Yes, get it done urgently, but do it properly and make sure the provisions actually work out. Sadly, it appears they are failing on that.
Shadow home affairs minister, Jonno Duniam. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAPShare
Updated at 17.25 EST
Albanese says proposed gun reforms a ‘commonsense approach’
The prime minister was asked about some of the proposed reforms, including one that would limit licensed gun owners to four firearms.
The legislation would also deny all non-citizens from owning a gun, implement customs changes for some dangerous weapons and set up a new gun buyback scheme.
Albanese said:
This is a commonsense approach. … There is nothing in this bill that should be opposed by people on the basis of the guns issue. It’s just making sure that these laws are kept up-to-date, which is what you would expect after an event such as 14 December.
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Updated at 17.01 EST
‘This should have been a moment of national unity’, Albanese says
The prime minister is lambasting the Coalition, saying the federal government has tried to consult with all parties, including the opposition and the Greens, to move forward.
He said:
This should have been a moment of national unity. As opposition leader of the Labor party, we engaged constructively. We voted for legislation even where our amendments weren’t successful. We said we weren’t going to allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good. And we knew what was required in a national moment …
These laws should be supported by every single member of the House of Representatives and the Senate, because you can’t just identify issues and problems without trying to work through solutions.
Anthony Albanese. Photograph: Lukas Coch/EPAShare
Updated at 16.50 EST
Albanese ‘stunned’ Coalition complaining about being rushed into post-Bondi legislation
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is speaking on ABC Sydney radio, saying he is stunned the Coalition continues to criticise an early return to parliament after calling for just that in the immediate aftermath of the Bondi attack.
He said:
[It] is somewhat stunning, frankly. The Coalition, day after day, very clearly called for parliament to be recalled, not on Monday 19 January, but during Christmas week.
They were calling for parliament to be resumed immediately, to use their words. Now they’re saying that this is somehow rushed.
Albanese said he has met with Sussan Ley on a weekly basis and provided advance notice that he would recall parliament, adding the government had consulted with many groups including the Jewish community.
We’ve said we’re open to amendments in order to make sure that we get this right. And we haven’t heard any proposed amendments. What we’ve had is people who haven’t even looked at the legislation declaring that it should be opposed …
They’re still playing politics. And I’m just stunned that they are saying they will vote against legislation, a number of their members, without even looking at it.
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Updated at 16.49 EST
