‘Serious consequences for Australian democracy': Author uses prize speech to warn against censorship
Australian author Michelle de Kretser has described feeling afraid of speaking publicly about the conflict in Gaza and warned against the serious consequences of censorship as she accepted the 2025 Stella Prize for her book Theory & Practice.
In her acceptance speech for the prestigious literary award, the Sri Lanka-born author said she believed truthful speech about what the Israeli government is doing in Gaza is being shut down and accused the Australian government of being complicit with 'material and diplomatic support'.
'That complicity has had serious consequences for Australian democracy. We've seen scholars, creatives and journalists silenced, their funding revoked and their contracts cancelled for expressing anti-genocide views ... We've seen our institutions and our media betray the principles they're supposed to uphold,' she said.
'We've seen language suffer Orwellian distortions. We've seen our leaders pander to the anti-Arab racism of that global bully the United States. And all of this damage has been done to prop up Israel: a brazenly cruel foreign power, whose leaders are internationally wanted criminals.'
According to the Sydney-based author, the aim of this suppression is to intimidate.
'In Australia today it isn't those applauding mass murder who have cause to be afraid, but those speaking out against it. Principally targeted are Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims, First Nations people, people of colour, queers,' she said.
'All the time I was writing these words, a voice in my head whispered, You will be punished. You will be smeared with labels as potent and ugly as they're false.'
'I'm still afraid. But I've just accepted a prize that is not about obedience. It's not about feel-good narratives, it's not about marketing, it's not even about creativity – Stella is about changing the world.'
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