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Cabinet Secretary Andrew Charlton accused Liberal Leader Sussan Ley Wednesday of sacking Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa-Price to defend her own leadership rather than protect Indian Australians, questioning why the opposition leader took eight days to apologize for controversial remarks.
Speaking on Sky News, Charlton criticized Ley's delayed response to comments that hurt Indian Australian communities, arguing the timing of Price's removal revealed self-serving motivations.
"Sussan Ley didn't sack Jacinta Price to defend Indian Australians. She sacked Jacinta Price to defend herself," Charlton said. "And that tells you everything you need to know about the state of the Liberal Party in this sorry saga."
The government minister detailed a timeline showing multiple opportunities for Ley to apologize before finally doing so Wednesday, suggesting political calculation rather than genuine concern for affected communities.
"Why has it taken eight days for that apology to come?" Charlton asked. "On Sunday, Sussan Ley had the opportunity on the Insiders Program to apologise and she refused to do that. On Monday, she met with members of the Indian community here in Sydney, and she refused to apologise to them."
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Timeline of Leadership Tensions
Charlton argued that Price's removal coincided with leadership challenges rather than community concerns, pointing to the sequence of events leading to the senator's dismissal from frontbench consideration.
"Sussan Ley didn't sack Jacinta Price the day after Jacinta Price refused to apologize. She sacked Jacinta Price the day after she refused to back Sussan Ley's leadership," he said. "And here, I think the timing is pretty instructive."
The Cabinet Secretary noted that other Liberal figures apologized before Ley, including New South Wales Liberal leader Mark Speakman on Tuesday and Liberal MP Julian Lisa on Wednesday.
"On Tuesday, Mark Speakman, the New South Wales leader of the Liberal Party, apologised to Indian Australians. Sussan Ley refused to apologise. On Wednesday, Julian Lisa, a member of her own team, made an apology. Sussan Ley again apologised," Charlton said.
Indian Community Impact
As the member for Parramatta, which includes significant Indian Australian populations, Charlton defended the community against Price's characterizations about welfare dependence and community size concerns.
"The Indian Australian community has delivered so much to this country and the remarks made by Jacinta Price were deeply hurtful but they were also just wrong," Charlton said.
He disputed Price's suggestions about welfare reliance, providing specific details about his constituents' work ethic and employment patterns.
"Jacinta Price said that the Indian Australian community was of concern because of its size and then implied that they were becoming reliant on welfare. Now, that just couldn't be further from the truth," Charlton said.
The minister highlighted employment statistics and community characteristics that contradict Price's assertions.
"The Indian Australian community in Parramatta, they are some of the hardest working people in our community. They have the highest rates of employment. They have the lowest levels of reliance on welfare," he said.
Community Work Patterns
Charlton described the employment dedication among Indian Australians in his electorate, emphasizing their commitment to financial independence.
"The people in my community, they take a second job. They work at night. They work really hard to support their families because they don't want to be on welfare," he said.
Community members expressed confusion and hurt over the controversial comments, according to Charlton's constituent feedback.
"So many Indian Australians that I talk to have found these comments hurtful, they found them confusing, and they wonder what it means," he said.
Systemic Liberal Party Pattern
The Cabinet Secretary characterized the incident as part of broader Liberal Party targeting of multicultural communities, citing previous controversial statements by senior party figures.
"This isn't an isolated incident for the Liberal Party, Kieran. This follows in the track record of the comments that Jane Hume made in the election about Chinese Australians, the comments that Peter Dutton made about African gangs, the comments that senior Liberals have made about Muslims from Lebanon," Charlton said.
He argued the pattern reveals systematic problems with Liberal Party approaches to multiculturalism.
"This is a systemic pattern of the Liberal Party targeting communities within Australia. Rather than welcoming and celebrating our multiculturalism, seeking to find ways to denigrate it," Charlton said.
The minister described this trend as the most concerning aspect of current political discourse around multicultural communities.
"And that, I think, is the most concerning aspect of the situation we find ourselves in," he said.
Political Violence Concerns
Addressing the murder of American conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Charlton expressed shock while drawing connections to broader concerns about political extremism and gun violence.
"It's completely shocking to see that sort of political violence carried out on someone as they seek to carry on a debate," Charlton said. "It's devastating. Charlie Kirk, a young man, just over 30 years old. Our heart goes out to his family."
The minister expanded his concern beyond immediate victims to broader American society, particularly families affected by campus and school violence.
"But I think our heart also has to go out to every American family. Think about the parents who had children there on that campus. Think about the parents who send their kids to school every day, worrying about the increasing frequency of school shootings," he said.
Australian Security Implications
Charlton emphasized the need for Australia to maintain social cohesion to prevent importing American-style political violence and extremism.
"There's clearly a very significant problem with gun violence and political extremism in the United States. And as Australians, we need to work really hard on our social cohesion to make sure that we don't import that violence and that extremism to our own shores," he said.
The Cabinet Secretary praised Australia's gun control framework, established following the Port Arthur massacre, as contributing to lower violence levels.
"I think we are lucky to have strong gun control laws in Australia. That seems to be one of really important aspects of this country that causes us to have much lower gun violence than many other nations," Charlton said.
Gun Control Protection
Charlton credited former Prime Minister John Howard's post-Port Arthur reforms with creating lasting security benefits for Australian society.
"It's something which was put in the late 90s by John Howard in quite challenging circumstances, but seems to be correlated with relatively low gun homicides in this country," he said.
The minister called for continued protection of gun control measures as essential for preventing American-style political violence.
"Something that I think Australians should reflect on and seek to protect as we try and make sure that our country is as safe as it can be and that we don't have the worst effects of this type of extreme political violence perpetrated in our own country," Charlton said.
Leadership Accountability Questions
Charlton's criticism centers on inconsistency between Ley's stated reasons for Price's removal and her own delayed response to community concerns.
"She said today that she sacked Jacinta Price for failing to apologise. But I think most Australians would be scratching their head at that, Kieran. How can she sack Jacinta Price for not apologising when Sussan Ley didn't apologise for all of those days?" he said.
The timing discrepancy, according to Charlton, reveals political motivations behind personnel decisions presented as principled stands on community relations.
The government minister's sustained criticism reflects broader political tensions surrounding multicultural community relations and opposition leadership stability following internal Liberal Party disputes over controversial statements and leadership confidence.
Charlton's comments represent the government's strongest criticism of Ley's handling of the Price controversy, focusing on leadership credibility and multicultural community relations as key political vulnerabilities for the opposition.
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