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A political firestorm has erupted over comments by Liberal Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price suggesting Indian migrants were being accepted into Australia because they were more likely to vote for Labor, drawing condemnation from community leaders and warnings from senior strategists that the remarks could damage the Coalition’s standing with multicultural voters.
The controversy has forced the Liberal Party’s deputy leader Sussan Ley into days of damage control, holding urgent meetings with Indian-Australian community representatives in Sydney’s Harris Park and beyond, while party colleagues and political commentators pressed Price to apologise.
“This is potentially really damaging for the Liberals,” Graham Richardson, a former Labor minister and senior counsel at Premier National, told Sky News Newsday. “You’re not going to be able in this sort of instance to try and compartmentalise these things. They tend to just grow. What you’ve got to do is narrow it down, make a statement and then say, I’m moving on.”
Richardson said the remarks were not only offensive but inaccurate. “They don’t appreciate being told that they all vote one way and favour Labor because they favour them. Well, they don’t appreciate it because it’s not true. Obviously, they don’t all vote Labor. If they did, we’d have a lot more seats than we’ve got now,” he said.
Indian-Australian community reacts
Australia is home to more than one million people of Indian heritage, one of the fastest-growing migrant groups in the country. Many work in small business, IT, healthcare, and education, and they are considered an increasingly influential voting bloc in key electorates across Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane.
Community groups said Price’s comments overlooked this diversity and unfairly stereotyped voters. Leaders in Harris Park, often described as the “Little India” of Sydney, met with Ley on Monday and pressed for a clear acknowledgment that Indian Australians do not vote as a bloc and should not be used as political pawns.
Richardson said Price’s failure to issue a prompt apology had worsened the damage. “This should have been dealt with very quickly and wasn’t. And if you allow these things to fester, then obviously you finish up in strife. That’s exactly what’s happened,” he said. “As my father always said, when you’re in strife, get out and get out quick.”
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Bruce Hawker: “Nothing short of insulting”
Bruce Hawker, a long-time Labor adviser and special counsel at Fitzpatrick & Co., said the remarks had created unnecessary division.
“It’s not often that I agree with Barnaby Joyce, but I think an apology is well and truly in order for Jacinta Price,” Hawker told Newsday. “She should have the character to say, look, I misspoke. I didn’t think it through. I didn’t have the party’s interest at heart. And I’m withdrawing the comments. That would be the important thing to do.”
Hawker said the controversy was politically dangerous because migrant communities were both sizable and contestable. “Any migrant community, particularly ones which are reasonably conservative socially, have got to be considered contestable areas by Labor and the Coalition. It’s dumb, really, for people to do that. It shows a level of division too that they should be very careful about.”
He warned that such remarks risked alienating communities who might otherwise align with the Coalition’s values. “Migrant groups in the community may well be inclined to be quite supportive because of a more conservative social position that they tend to adopt than perhaps they would see in the Labor Party or the Greens,” Hawker said. “So when members of the Coalition do themselves real damage with groups like this, it’s politically self-defeating.”
Sussan Ley left to repair damage
As deputy Liberal leader, Ley has been tasked with containing the fallout. She has met leaders from both the Indian and Chinese communities in recent days, attempting to reassure them of the Coalition’s commitment to multiculturalism.
Hawker noted that more than one million Australians now identify as being of Chinese heritage, with the Indian community expected to exceed that figure soon. “It’s beyond just the cohesion question and all that sort of stuff. Just in pure politics, you’ve got to win those cohorts, and they are contestable,” he said.
Ley’s appearances in Harris Park included walking through local businesses and dining with Indian community representatives. While supportive of her outreach, leaders have said the controversy requires a stronger response from Price herself.
Migration politics in focus
The episode has reignited debate over how Australia’s political parties engage with migration. Hawker pointed out that Labor itself had once been a staunchly anti-migrant party before shifting in the post-war period to embrace multiculturalism. “We are a nation built on migration and we will continue to be a nation which is heavily dependent on migration because our birth rate just can’t keep up with the needs,” he said.
Richardson echoed that view, saying attempts to pigeonhole migrant communities were both offensive and ineffective. “We can’t organise them, corral them and say, you’ve all got to do this. That’s not the nature of Australian society. And God help us if it ever was,” he said.
Broader international context
The debate in Australia has unfolded against the backdrop of international disputes over migration. In the United States, President Donald Trump has announced plans to deploy National Guard troops and immigration agents in Chicago to carry out mass deportations and crackdown on crime, prompting large protests.
Hawker linked Trump’s approach to a troubling shift away from democratic norms. “To use the military to perform policing functions is just another indication that the United States under Trump is moving further and further away from a democratic outlook,” he said. “That’s very worrying, not only for the American people, but of course for all the rest of us who live in the West.”
Richardson said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese would be eager to move beyond domestic distractions as he prepares for the Pacific Islands Forum and a high-profile trip to the United Nations in New York, where he is expected to meet Trump in person. “I’m glad it’s happening because we’ve got to move on from asking these questions every day,” he said.
Why it matters
The row over Price’s comments highlights the growing influence of migrant communities in shaping electoral outcomes in Australia. In marginal seats, the Indian and Chinese communities alone can make the difference between victory and defeat. Political strategists warn that alienating such voters with careless remarks risks long-term damage.
Hawker said both major parties must tread carefully. “All the major parties walk into these problems from time to time,” he said. “Labor had to learn the hard way that being anti-migrant didn’t work. The Coalition needs to learn that lesson too.”
For now, Ley’s outreach continues while Price faces mounting calls for a formal apology. Whether she offers one could determine how long the controversy lingers — and how much political damage it causes.
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