'Should Apologise For The Hurt': Australian PM Urges Lawmaker Over Anti-India Comments

Last Updated:September 09, 2025, 12:03 IST

Australian PM Anthony Albanese urged Liberal Senator Jacinta Price to apologise for claiming large-scale Indian migration aimed to boost Labor votes.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (Photo: AP)

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, a senator in the centre-right Liberal Party, should apologise for comments suggesting an unsustainable number of Indians were migrating to the country, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday.

Price had made the comments about one of Australia’s largest minority groups, after nationwide anti-immigrant protests had blamed Indians for cost-of-living pressures in the country.

During a radio interview last week, Price had suggested that a large number of Indians had been allowed to migrate to Australia to vote for Albanese’s centre-left Labor Party.

“There is a concern with the Indian community, and we can see that reflected in the way that the community votes for Labor at the same time," Price said.

Her comments led to outrage amongst the Australian-Indian community, subsequently leading to calls for an apology, including from within her own party.

Later, during an interview, Albanese said the people in the Indian community were hurt.

“The comments are not true that the senator made, and, of course, she should apologise for the hurt that has been caused, and her own colleagues are saying that," the Australian Prime Minister said.

Reuters quoted government statistics and suggested that 845,800 Indian-born people were living in Australia in 2023. It also stated that hundreds of thousands more born in Australia claim some form of Indian ancestry.

The state government of New South Wales on Tuesday held a meeting of community groups to discuss what it said was rising anti-Australian-Indian sentiment.

“Today we stand together with the Australian-Indian community to say unambiguously that the sort of racist rhetoric and divisive false claims we have seen over the last couple of weeks have no place in our state or country," NSW Premier Chris Minns said.

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Vani Mehrotra

Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.

News world 'Should Apologise For The Hurt': Australian PM Urges Lawmaker Over Anti-India Comments

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