Liberal powerbroker tells Price to apologise, cites ‘real damage on both sides’

1 week ago 3

Liberal powerbroker Alex Hawke has made a public call for Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price to apologise for her comments about Indian immigration, as the saga threatens to engulf the opposition for a second week and exposes broader infighting in the party.

Hawke on Monday denied speaking angrily to Price or her staff, after the senator made a public statement on Sunday that accused him of berating her staff and “inappropriate and cowardly behaviour” when he approached her about the remarks.

Alex Hawke and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price.

But he agreed he told Price that she should say sorry for her comments, and that remained the case.

“I was of the view an apology would fix this,” he told Sky News on Monday morning.

“She disagreed with me, and she has disagreed with me. But I’ve looked at the damage in the community, and there is real damage now on both sides.”

Price has been under pressure since she told the ABC last Wednesday that the federal government was bringing in migrants “from particular countries over others” to win votes, naming the “Indian community” as an example. She soon clarified that Australia’s migration policy was non-discriminatory and “suggestions otherwise are a mistake”, but said she had nothing to apologise for.

Hawke said he was still receiving emails from Price’s supporters on Monday saying “words to the effect of: there’s too many Indian people coming into the country, that’s bad, she needs to address that”.

“After those fliers we saw before the anti-immigration rallies, which singled out the Indian community, this was a particularly bad week for these comments,” he said.

“And then I’ve got members of the Liberal Party, some from South-East Asian communities and Indian communities, saying we really feel hurt.

“I think it would be good for her now, now that she’s raised this issue publicly, that she should think about the advice I’ve given her.”

Opposition Leader Sussan Ley has been in damage control as she seeks to repair the Liberal Party’s reputation with Indian Australians, leading a contingent of Liberals, including Paul Scarr, Julian Leeser and Maria Kovacic, on a tour of Little India in Sydney’s Harris Park on Sunday night.

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 or was sacked from the shadow ministry, where she serves as spokeswoman for defence industry.

Ley has declined to apologise on Price’s behalf, saying on Sunday that “the most important message that I can send is that appreciation of our Indian community heard directly from me as leader”.

But the fallout within the party deepened when Price made a rare public allegation against Hawke, a shadow ministry colleague, as well as criticising the Liberal Party’s treatment of women, following a Sky News report saying Hawke had told Price to rectify her claim last week.

Sussan Ley, centre, Gurmeet Singh Tuli, President of Little India Australia, and shadow immigration minister Paul Scarr try some local cuisine during a tour of Little India in Harris Park on Sunday.

“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,” Price wrote on social media.

“If people want to talk about a so-called ‘woman problem’ in the Liberal Party, then it’s this: we don’t stand up for women when they are mistreated by our own colleagues.”

Sources familiar with the conversation said it referred to former opposition frontbencher Jane Hume’s “Chinese spy” comments spreading quickly on social media during the election campaign.

Hume on Monday morning said she was “still reeling a little bit” from that revelation. “I’m not entirely sure what this is all about and why my name needs to be included,” she said.

Hawke said: “Jane isn’t involved in this and I wouldn’t drag her into it.”

“I’ve raised the immigration issue and I’ve raised the race issue. I can’t see how it has a gender perspective,” Hawke said.

The MP agreed he had phoned Price’s office, and had a one- to two-minute conversation with her staff, but denied it was angry. “All I said to Jacinta was, would you consider apologising to the community for making a mistake about the remarks?”

“There was a lot of criticism building and I knew on Thursday that the Labor Party would try and weaponise the comments,” he said.

“I think if an apology was offered early on and just a quick walk back, that would have helped. But there’s still time, and I think the community should hear from her, because I’ve heard from her, and I believe her. She didn’t mean these comments, she wasn’t being racist, but it came out that way.”

The public stoush comes months after Price defected from the Nationals so that she could run for the Liberal Party’s deputy leadership on Angus Taylor’s ticket. Ley, supported by Hawke, won against Taylor by three votes.

Hawke said it was not a case of moderate and conservative factional infighting, when asked by Sky News. “She’s just joined the Liberal Party and she’s been welcomed with open arms,” he said.