From Bob Katter’s clash with a journalist, to national protests last week, immigration policy continues to be a major talking point.
Now Indigenous Senator Jacinta Price has taken over as the centre of debate, drawing criticism for accusing the Labor government of supporting mass migration—because of the perceived benefits at the ballot box—as well as mentioning the Indian migrant community.
India is now the largest source of overseas migrants to Australia.
What Were Price’s Comments?
On Sept. 3, Price, the now-shadow industry minister, told ABC’s Afternoon Briefing that she was concerned about the “core number” of migrants, and accused the Labor Party of seeking “power at any cost.”
“I think Labor like to ensure they are going to allow those in that would ultimately support their policies, their views and vote for them,” Price said.
“As we’ve seen … there is a concern with the Indian community, only because there’s been large numbers and we can see that reflected in the way the community votes for Labor.
“So if they’re going to see a reflection that, ‘OK, these individuals are going to vote for us more, more so than other parts of the community.’ Well then, of course they’re going to express the view that we’ll get those sorts of individuals into our communities.”
She also said migrants were likely to believe voting for Labor was in their best interests, and claimed that when expectations fell short it would lead to reliance on the welfare system.
The Liberal Party Goes Into Damage Control
Her comments were met with swift criticism, with Liberal Party members going into damage control, particularly amid existing difficulties connecting with the Chinese-Australian community.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley went to meet with representatives of the Indian community in Sydney’s Harris Park near Parramatta on Sept. 7, along with the Shadow Immigration Minister Paul Scarr and New South Wales Opposition Leader Mark Speakman.
Ley called Price’s comments “wrong,” but did not press for an apology.
“They will not be repeated,” Ley told the ABC.
“What I have offered to the Australian Indian community is my full support, my deep appreciation, my ongoing warmth for what they bring to this country and how we value them as migrants.”
Liberal Senator Maria Kovacic said the Indian community was hurt by the comments.
“I had a very open discussion with them,” she said.
“I think the most important thing is to be honest in your interactions and tell people that you acknowledge that the commentary was hurtful, but also acknowledge that it was untrue.”
Price and Fellow Liberal MP Cross Swords
Former Immigration Minister Alex Hawke had publicly demanded Price apologise, saying she caused “real damage” to the Australian Indian community.
Price denied media reports that Hawke had called or texted her for a conversation, but rather claimed he had called her office number and berated her staff.
“He even pressed my staff that if I did not comply with his requests, I may end up like another female member of the Coalition—who I won’t name,” she said in a statement.
“Later that day, I sent him a WhatsApp message to call out his cowardly and inappropriate conduct.
“Only after that message did Alex Hawke and I speak on (Sept. 4).
Price went further by saying her party did not stand up for women “mistreated” by their own colleagues.
Hawke later told Sky News Australia he had merely called for an apology.
“All I said to Jacinta was, ‘Would you consider apologising to the community for making a mistake about the remarks,’” he said.
“After those flyers we saw before the anti-immigration rallies, which singled out the Indian community, this was a particularly bad week for these comments.”
On Sept. 8, Hawke labelled claims he’d berated Price’s staffer as “stupidity.”
“Sounds like total gossip,” he said. “I’m on one end, somebody on another end, it was an unplanned and unexpected call, I won’t go into that gossip and stupidity.”
What Did Labor MPs Say?
From the Labor side, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns stood by the Indian community, saying they were hard-working.
“I couldn’t believe [the comments] were uttered or I don’t say that just to be typically hyperbolic from a politician,” he told Sky News Australia.
“Firstly, it’s completely incorrect. The Indian community in New South Wales and Australia does not depend on the welfare state. This is some of the most entrepreneurial, hard working people that we have in our entire country. We’re lucky to have them.”
Andrew Charlton, the Labor MP for Parramatta—home to a large Indian community—urged Price to apologise, calling her remarks “frankly disgusting.”
“I feel terrible that Indian Australians are receiving such a damaging message. They deserve to know that these views are not shared by the vast majority of Australians,” he wrote in an opinion piece in the multicultural media outlet, The Australia Today.
Charlton claimed that a “disturbing trend” had emerged.
“A major political party in this country is drifting further towards extremism, targeting minority communities and attacking multiculturalism itself.”
Price Says She Should Have Been Clearer
On Sept. 8, Price issued a statement on her Facebook saying she regretted not being clearer last week.
“I know that many Australians of Indian ancestry—and Indian migrants living in Australia—are distressed. Not only by my comments, but also in reading associated newspaper coverage,” she wrote.
“I sought to correct and clarify my comments after the ABC interview.”
Price claimed some of the media reporting on her comments were “agenda-driven” and “wrenched my comments from context.”
“Yes, we need migration. But there’s a big difference between controlled, planned, and sustainable migration on the one hand. And uncontrolled, unplanned, and unsustainable migration on the other hand.
How Does the Indian Community Vote?
In the wake of Price’s comments, The Australia Today ran an unofficial online poll asking readers which party they would vote for—under 60 percent chose the Coalition.
Those results are, however, in contrast to several scientific polls conducted in recent years, which determined a tendency for some Indian migrants to vote Labor.
A pattern of voting for Labor among migrant communities is not limited to Indian migrants, but also prevalent among other non-English speaking backgrounds.
At the same time, Australian National University survey found migrant communities do not deliberately bloc vote, but tend to vote on policies that most impact them.
According to Australian Bureau of Statistics data released in April, Indian migrants are slated to become the top country of birth for international migrants, surpassing those from the UK.
