Opposition leader Sussan Ley has stopped short of apologising for comments made by Liberal senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price about Indian migrants, but said they were not correct and should not have taken place.
Some members of the Australian-Indian community had been calling for Price to apologise, after the senator told the ABC Labor was accepting migrants who “support their policies, their views and vote for them as well”, singling out “the Indian community” as an example.
Shortly after, Price appeared to walk back her comments, saying she didn’t think she had anything to apologise for and appeared to accuse the interviewer of pushing the topic.
Ley told the ABC’s Insiders program on Sunday that Price’s comments “won’t be repeated”.
“The comments were wrong, not correct. They should not have taken place,” she said.
“They will not be repeated. What I said subsequent and what I say now is to express my deep appreciation to the Indian community for all they have brought to Australia, for all they continue to bring, for their representation in every forum of society.”
Ley praised Indian professionals and said many live in her electorate.
“We respect our Indian community as all our migrant communities.”
Insiders host David Speers pushed Ley on whether she would apologise for Price’s comments but the opposition leader did not issue an apology.
She said she would be meeting with members of the Indian-Australian community on Sunday afternoon and said Nampijinpa Price is also engaging with the community.
Price’s comments came after anti-immigration marches in capital cities and some regional areas, with some rhetoric from organisers singling out the Indian-Australian community.
Ley said on Insiders that the total number of migrants to Australia was putting pressure on jobs, infrastructure and services.
“It’s not the migrants themselves themselves. I’m a migrant to this country, incredibly grateful for the opportunities it has given me and my family. I know other migrants feel the same. I welcome every single one of them,” she said.
“The government failed in not getting infrastructure right.”