Global accounting giant KPMG has pulled out of the Sydney Writers Festival, requesting that its name listed as a corporate partner be removed from the event’s website.
The move comes as Palestinian-Australian academic Randa Abdel-Fattah is scheduled at the festival to speak in two sessions at this year’s event.
A KPMG spokesperson confirmed the change on Thursday, telling the Guardian in a statement: “We are the company’s auditor, which we do not define as a ‘partner’. This is now reflected on their website.”
A spokesperson would not confirm whether Abdel-Fattah’s schedule prompted the move, but said the company had received calls expressing concern over the issue.
They confirmed that in previous years, KPMG was comfortable being described as a partner on the festival’s website.
KPMG has provided auditing services to the SWF from 2023 at a discounted rate.
KPMG, according to the firm’s own statement, does not intend to partner with the event, the writers’ festival said in a statement.
“The website now reflects this,” the festival said in a statement. “SWF has many wonderful partners and supporters, and we are grateful to all of them.”
Abdel-Fattah’s participation in literary events became a flashpoint for the art scene. Adelaide Writers’ Week in January invited Abdel-Fatta from its program on grounds of “cultural sensitivity” following the Bondi Beach terror attack.
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This sparked a backlash that led to the resignation of the board and the cancellation of the entire event.
Objections to her inclusion centered around a 2024 social media post that read: “If you are a Zionist, you have no claim or right to cultural security”.
Abdel-Fattah faced backlash for posting “May 2025 the end of Israel” and changing his profile picture to a photo of a Palestinian paratrooper after the October 7 attacks.
Abdel-Fattah told ABC in an interview that she used the image “when she didn’t know the death toll.”
The board of the Sydney Writers’ Festival invited her to participate in the Bondi attack and Adelaide Writers’ Week controversy. This week it stood by the invitation, with chief executive Brooke Webb saying the event was “not in the business of canceling or censoring writers”.
Alex Rivchin, co-chief executive of the Australian Jury’s Executive Council, told ABC News that Abdel-Fattah’s inclusion in the program was “deliberate provocation and a middle finger to the Jewish community”.
Last week the NSW Premier, Chris Minnes, raised objections to Abdel-Fatta’s participation in the Newcastle Writers’ Festival, describing her as a “head-scratcher” and “crazy”.
On Wednesday, the NSW arts minister, John Graham, stressed the need to “turn down the heat” of the debate, but said canceling events would not achieve this.
“Everyone can play a role in this, including our cultural institutions and programs,” he said. “We have seen that canceling programs without contributing to social harmony often has the opposite effect.
“We’re working closely with Jewish leaders and our cultural sector, including writers’ festivals, to find ways to welcome lovers of Jewish arts and culture to our events and institutions. My guess is that arts organizations will prioritize this.”
Guardian Australia is also a sponsor of the event.
