The University of Queensland Press (UQP) has cancelled the publication of a children's book by Indigenous poet Jazz Money, illustrated by Matt Chun, after Chun described victims of the Bondi terror attack as 'affluent beneficiaries of imperialism' in a Substack post. The university stated the decision was due to comments that 'do not align with the University's policies and values including in light of its adopted definition of antisemitism'.
Chun's post, titled 'We don't mourn fascists', criticised what he called 'liberal capitulation' to a 'Zionist framing' of the attack, which killed 15 people in December. He wrote that 'White, Jewish settler victimhood demands exceptional, heightened grief'. New South Wales police are investigating the post.
Several authors, including Evelyn Araluen, Randa Abdel-Fattah and Melissa Lucashenko, said they would terminate contracts or refuse to work with UQP in protest. Lucashenko called the move an 'egregious decision'. However, the Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies welcomed it, with president Jason Steinberg saying the university had taken a stand against 'hate, vitriol and grotesque propaganda'.
Money expressed concern about the precedent set by the cancellation, stating that 'even a kids' book about a river written by an Aboriginal person on Aboriginal land can be destroyed because of a right wing media campaign'. UQP said it was considering 'recycling options' for already printed copies, but denied they were being pulped.
