The Victorian Liberal Party has vowed to make India the state’s top partner for business, education and tourism during a special meeting with “multicultural” media organisations.
Opposition leader Brad Battin was joined by deputy leader Sam Groth and multicultural affairs spokesman Evan Mulholland at a press conference at Parliament House last Tuesday.
The event was an attempt to “course-correct” the Liberal Party’s outreach strategy for immigrant voters and aimed to show that Mr Battin is attuned to their needs, according to local Indian community media outlet The Australia Today.
Mr Battin made overtures to Victoria’s Indian community – the largest in Australia – by promising to deepen the state’s ties with India.
“We will build on existing trade and student-exchange links and welcome more Indian investment in our booming technology and clean-energy sectors,” he said.
He also said Victoria needed more selective schools, and said Labor’s new payroll tax on religious and private schools “hurts families”.
Mr Groth said the party was aware of complaints that the Liberal Party’s lack of outreach to immigrant groups was making “too many communities feel left behind”.
“Today we’re making a promise: your stories, your struggles and your successes will shape our agenda,” he said, adding that engaging with multiculturalism was “a foundational step to crafting policies that work for every family in Victoria, no matter where they come from”.
Mr Mulholland also moved a motion to urge taxpayer-funded multiculturalism broadcaster SBS to expand out of Sydney into migrant-dominated Melbourne suburbs like Dandenong and Broadmeadows.
“Victoria is the multicultural capital of Australia, and SBS must reflect that reality—or risk becoming the Sydney Broadcasting Service,” he said.
The attempt to court Indian voters comes after disgraced former leader John Pesutto promised to select more Indian candidates, and the Western Australia Liberals ran six Indian candidates in the March state election, none of whom won seats.
Labor Premier Jacinta Allan made visit to India last year where she pledged $5 million to help Indian students avoid the federal government’s planned caps, and created a new pathway to permanent residency.
As of June 2023 there were 272,250 Indian immigrants living in Victoria, 4.2% of the state’s population and 5.1% of Melbourne’s. Another 120,000 people in Victoria have Indian ancestry.
Header image: Left, Brad Battin panders to Indian voters (Facebook). Right, Mr Battin at the multicultural media event (The Australia Today).
