Brisbane’s Lord Mayor has launched a blistering attack on the Queensland Music Awards and, in particular, the winner of this year’s jazz category, whose entry and acceptance speech he rounded on as “anti-Semitic”.
On Thursday, March 27, Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner announced the Brisbane City Council would remove funding for the QMAs, punishment for the selection of Kellee Green’s “River to Sea” and her controversial acceptance speech at this year’s edition, presented Tuesday, March 25th at Brisbane’s Fortitude Music Hall.
Schrinner, a member of the Liberal National Party, signed a strongly-worded statement. “The promotion of antisemitism at Tuesday night’s Queensland Music Awards was utterly shameful and divisive”, he wrote.
“The decision to hand a major prize to an offensively titled anti-Jewish song raises serious questions about whether the awards have been hijacked by extremists.”
He added, “as a result, we will be immediately withdrawing our funding and support for these awards”.
The BCC’s funding for the QMAs is understood to be worth $25,000.
Council yanked its backing just hours after the News Corp-owned Courier Mail published a story which questioned the moral compass of Kellee Green, the winner of the jazz award, one of more than 30 categories presented Tuesday night, March 25 at the 2025 QMAs.
Green was on hand for the party at Fortitude Music Hall, where she delivered an impassioned speech in support of Palestine. Her winning work, a pro-Palestinian instrumental piece, is named “River to Sea”, a phrase that has upset some in the Jewish community.
According to the American Jewish Community, it became the signature phrase of the Palestine Liberation Organization during the 1960s and ‘70s to indicate the replacement of the State of Israel with a State of Palestine extending “from the river to the sea”, including the expulsion of Jews who entered the land after 1947. Later, it was said to have become a rallying cry for terrorist groups including Hamas, the group responsible for the October 7, 2023 terror attack on Israeli civilians.
Following the QMAs ceremony, Queensland Board of Deputies president Jason Steinberg urged federal and state government to undertake a review of its funding for the QMAs, and for Green’s award to be revoked, per the Courier Mail article, published under the headline “Music award so off-key”.
In a separate statement, Kris Stewart, CEO of QMusic, producers of annual ceremony, said the organisation and its membership was “deeply saddened by Brisbane City Council’s decision to revoke funding.”
More than 500 entries were submitted for this year’s event, notes QMusic’s Stewart. “While we recognise that this phrase carries political connotations, the title did not stand out as divisive within the volume of songs received”.
The QMAs “exist to celebrate the extraordinary talent, creativity and contribution of Queensland’s contemporary music community”, he explains.
“We welcome the opportunity to meet with Council to discuss the matter and explore a constructive and positive path forward”, he adds, “one that continues to uphold the value of the arts and the importance of supporting Queensland artists.”
Green, whose socials appear to have been taken offline, has yet to publicly comment on the controversy surrounding her award-winning track and her subsequent acceptance speech.
Established in 2006 (then known as Q Song Awards), the QMAs are also supported by Queensland Government, through Arts Queensland, and the federal government, through Creative Australia.
Read the statement from QMusic CEO Kris Stewart:
The Queensland Music Awards (QMAs) exist to celebrate the extraordinary talent, creativity and contribution of Queensland’s contemporary music community.
As the state’s peak music awards program, the QMAs are judged by more than 100 respected music industry professionals from across the country.
Judges are independently assigned to genre categories aligned with their area of interest and assess each submission based solely on its musical and artistic merit.
To ensure a fair and transparent process, judges are only provided with the song title, artist name and audio recording. No additional context or background information about the artist or song is shared.
More than 500 entries were submitted to the QMAs this year across a wide range of genres. Among these, an instrumental song with no vocals or lyrics titled River to Sea was included. While we recognise that this phrase carries political connotations, the title did not stand out as divisive within the volume of songs received.
We recognise there are learnings from this year’s event and commit to providing our members with an update on any changes ahead of next year’s awards.
We acknowledge the sensitive nature of this moment and the impact it has had on some members of our community. We do not wish for the Queensland Music Awards to be a platform for political debate. The intention of the event is, and always has been, to celebrate the work of our state’s artists and industry.
We are deeply saddened by Brisbane City Council’s decision to revoke funding.
We welcome the opportunity to meet with Council to discuss the matter and explore a constructive and positive path forward – one that continues to uphold the value of the arts and the importance of supporting Queensland artists.
We have heard and acknowledge the feedback shared by members of the community in recent days. As custodians of the QMAs, we remain committed to learning from this experience and ensuring the integrity and purpose of the awards are upheld.
Our focus now returns to what the QMAs have always stood for: celebrating the depth, diversity and brilliance of Queensland music and the artists who help shape the cultural identity of our state.
Read the statement from Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner:
Music should be a positive force that brings people together, not tear them apart.
The promotion of antisemitism at Tuesday night’s Queensland Music Awards was utterly shameful and divisive.
The decision to hand a major prize to an offensively titled anti-Jewish song raises serious questions about whether the awards have been hijacked by extremists.
Allowing such vile hate speech to occur shows the awards seem to be no longer capable of achieving their own stated goal to ‘promote diversity and inclusion’.
As a result, we will be immediately withdrawing our funding and support for these awards.
I want Brisbane to be a safe and inclusive destination for everyone and the kind of divisive and offensive actions on display at last night’s awards have no place in our city.
