UPDATE: Opposition Leader Sussan Ley is taking urgent steps to address tensions with the Indian community following controversial remarks made by Coalition Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price. During a visit to the vibrant suburb of Harris Park on Sunday afternoon, Ley was met with warm welcomes as she attempted to mend relations, despite declining to formally apologize for Price’s statements regarding Indian migrants.
The controversy erupted after Senator Price claimed in an interview that the government was bringing in Indian migrants who would support the Labor Party. Her comments sparked immediate backlash, forcing her party into damage control. In her address to the community, Ley stated, “The comments were wrong, they were not correct, they should not have taken place and corrections have been made.”
Community members greeted Ley with flowers and smiles, eager to share their concerns. During the visit, she engaged with local business owners and sampled cuisine from restaurants, emphasizing the Coalition’s ongoing support for the Indian diaspora, Australia’s second-largest foreign-born community.
While Ley acknowledged the hurt caused by Price’s remarks, she refrained from issuing a direct apology on behalf of her party. Instead, she expressed her commitment to valuing and respecting the Indian community. “I did hear from the Indian community that they felt hurt at what they heard,” she noted in an interview with ABC’s Insiders program.
Senator Price later addressed the fallout on social media, saying she regretted “not being clearer in my comments.” She reassured the community that her intent was never to disparage them. However, she also mentioned that senior Liberal frontbencher Alex Hawke had reprimanded her staff following the interview, a claim Hawke did not directly address in his response.
The fallout from this incident has raised questions about the current migration system, which Ley described as a “mess.” She criticized the government’s lack of transparency about migration statistics, stating, “You can never get the information from the government about what proportion of individuals are here under what visas.” The government has announced that its permanent migration intake for the year 2025/26 will remain on hold at 185,000.
Local representative Sreeni Pillamarri from Parramatta City Council voiced that an apology should come directly from Senator Price, not Ley. “Being from the same heritage, I’ve been asked a few questions about it from the Indian community in Parramatta and I’ve said the comments from Senator Price are not acceptable,” he stated.
As this situation develops, all eyes are on the Coalition’s next moves and whether further actions will be taken to restore confidence within the Indian community. The urgency of the matter underscores the importance of maintaining respectful dialogue among diverse communities in Australia.
