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NSW Liberal Leader Mark Speakman has apologised for the “deep hurt” that Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has caused Indian Australians, just days after backing a party fundraiser which the firebrand Northern Territory senator headlined.
Speakman met Indian community and business leaders in NSW Parliament on Tuesday to apologise on behalf of the NSW Coalition for Price’s comments, in which she suggested Labor focused on Indian migration to stack votes.
NSW Liberal Leader Mark Speakman and members of the NSW Coalition met Indian community and business leaders in parliament on Tuesday.
Speakman and senior Liberals, including deputy leader Natalie Ward, have been trying to distance themselves from Price’s comments over the weekend, despite the opposition leader on Friday insisting that Willoughby MP Tim James was “doing his job” by hosting a Liberal fundraising event with Price as the guest speaker.
Only two days earlier, Price had made disparaging remarks about Indian migrants in a television interview on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing. She has retracted her comments but not apologised.
Price’s comments have been widely criticised, including from senior members of her party, while NSW Labor Treasurer Daniel Mookhey accused the Liberals of cashing in on divisiveness by pushing ahead with the fundraiser, which was attended by senior Liberals, including Ward.
Mookhey, one of the most senior politicians in Australia with Indian heritage, said the fundraiser was “wildly insensitive” and “an effort to cash in on her celebrity that is engendered by politics of division”.
NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey, one of the country’s most senior Indian Australian politicians, says the Liberals have abandoned their once-strong multicultural roots.Credit: Kate Geraghty
When asked on Friday whether Price attending the fundraiser was still appropriate, Speakman said: “Tim James is doing his job, namely working for his community, and he has my full backing.”
However, on Tuesday, Speakman and Nationals Leader Dugald Saunders offered a joint apology to the Indian community, and said the opposition “stands ready to support a bipartisan motion backing the Indian Australian community”.
“The NSW Liberals and Nationals are sorry for the deep hurt many Indian-Australians feel after a federal senator’s offensive comments last week,” a statement from the pair said.
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The statement said the Coalition “discussed building stronger links between communities, the economic benefits that migration has brought to Australia, ensuring the safety and security of places of worship, and strengthening reporting pathways for instances of hate and racism”.
Earlier, NSW Premier Chris Minns also met Indian community leaders in Macquarie Street.
“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,” Minns said in a statement.
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Federal Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has also been in damage control as she seeks to repair the Liberal Party’s reputation, holding roundtables with Indian and Chinese Australians on Monday, the day after she led a contingent of Liberals on a tour of Little India in Sydney’s Harris Park.
Speakman and Ward were among the state Liberals who joined Ley in Harris Park.
Some businesses were happy to host them, but several others refused, saying they would not engage with Ley or the Liberals until Price issued an unconditional apology.
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