I moved to Australia from Sri Lanka: Here’s why Jacinta Price’s comments about Indians are NOT racist – as she doubles down and Liberal civil war explodes
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has doubled down on her decision not to apologise for her inflammatory comments about Labor allegedly ‘importing’ Indian voters, as the ongoing fallout threatens to tear the Coalition apart.
Senator Price faced backlash last week after accusing Labor of bringing in ‘large numbers’ of Indian migrants to help boost its vote.
The comments prompted Liberal Party numbers man Alex Hawke to ask her to clarify her comments, with their spat spilling into the public domain after Senator Price subsequently accused him of ‘cowardly and inappropriate conduct’ towards her staff.
Several senior Coalition figures have called on Senator Price to apologise but she has so far remained firm.
Now, she has effectively doubled down by re-sharing a lengthy post written by conservative political commentator Rukshan Fernando.
‘Senator Jacinta Price’s comments about Indian Australians were not racist in any way, and she should not apologise to anyone,’ Mr Fernando wrote.
‘Her observations about Australia’s changing demographics are grounded in real world observations and, importantly, data.
‘The overreaction to her remarks about Labor essentially importing Indian voters is evident in the obsessive demands for an apology to appease Indian Australians from the left, the mainstream media, and some so called conservatives.’
Senator Price faced backlash last week after accusing Labor of prioritising Indian migrants to help boost its vote. Now, she has effectively doubled down by re-sharing a lengthy post written by conservative political commentator Rukshan Fernando where he claims her comments were ‘not racist’
It comes after several senior Coalition figures have called on Senator Price to apologise, as the fallout continues
He called for a ‘broader discussion of the topic’, claiming Labor was attractive to Indian-Australians because of the ‘allure of victimhood offered’ by the party.
‘I say all of this of course as an Australian with subcontinental heritage, I believe Senator Jacinta Price did a great service for Australia by opposing Labor and Albanese’s push for racial apartheid during the Voice debate,’ Mr Fernando, who was born in Sri Lanka, added.
Senator Price shared his comments and thanked him, effectively endorsing what he had written and reiterating her decision not to apologise.
‘You are an Aussie that fights for our values and freedoms and I am grateful for your support and common sense on current issues. One Australia for us all,’ she wrote.
The ongoing fallout from her comments, made last Wednesday on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing program, has been a massive headache for Opposition Leader Sussan Ley who almost immediately went into damage control.
Ley visited ‘Little India’ in Parramatta on Sunday to speak with local businesses and community leaders.
She was told that many members of the community’s ‘hearts’ were broken by these comments and was asked if Price should apologise.
‘Senator Price has retracted her remarks, acknowledged that they were heard in a way that was hurtful and harmful,’ Ley responded.
The ongoing fallout from her comments, made last Wednesday on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing program, has been a massive headache for Opposition Leader Sussan Ley (pictured) who almost immediately went into damage control
Multiple senior figures in the Coalition, including Nationals Leader David Littleproud and Alex Hawke, have subsequently called on Senator Price to apologise.
On Wednesday, Liberal Senator Jane Hume, who was demoted after the disastrous defeat at the federal election, took the opportunity to stick the boot into Ley over her handling of the stoush.
‘There is no doubt it has been terribly handled internally,’ Senator Hume told Sky News.
‘I think that the leader’s office would probably now acknowledge that if the leader wanted an outcome, she probably should have picked up the phone herself rather than sending a henchman.
‘Because this has been so poorly handled, it’s now blown out of control. The question now is how do we bring the conversation back to what is important to everyday Australians.’
Senator Hume had been dragged into the whole affair on Sunday when Senator Price accused Hawke of berating 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,’ Senator Price claimed in a statement posted on social media.
It emerged that the individual in question was Senator Hume, who was demoted after the election.
Hume was widely blamed for the Coalition’s disastrous work from home policy, which former leader Peter Dutton was forced to walk back.
She also made an off-hand remark in the final week of the campaign claiming ‘Chinese spies’ were volunteering for the Labor Party which was blamed for a collapse in support for the Liberal vote among Chinese Australians.
