Mumbai: In the wake of some recent racial incidents, Australian High Commissioner to India Philip Green on Thursday affirmed his country’s commitment to the safety of Indian migrants.
Australian authorities will “effectively” deal with the occasional incidents that happen, he assured.
Pointing out that more than half of his country’s population consists
of migrants or their children, Green asserted that Australia is a multicultural society.
Stating that Australia is among the “very safest parts of the world for anyone”, he said over 10 lakh people of Indian origin have made the country their home.
“That (presence of Indian migrants) means there will be occasionally incidents as there will be anywhere in the world and we deal with them very effectively,” he added.
Acknowledging that there have been demonstrations recently focusing on the number of migrants coming into Australia and focusing “to some extent” on people of Indian origin, Green said the Australian government has been “very clear” that there is no place in their society for religious or ethnic discrimination.
“..Australian ministers at the most senior level have responded to these demonstrations. People in Australia are entitled to have demonstrations but we would say this very clearly, we stand with migrants, including migrants of Indian origin and we stand very much for multiculturalism in Australia,” he said.
It can be noted that there has also been reports of a brutal assault on an Indian student in Adelaide in late July.
“..for the most part, Australia is a place where Indians can enjoy themselves in peace and tranquillity,” Green told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.
Meanwhile, speaking about trade ties, Green said Australia and India share a very complementary relationship where they don’t compete but aid each other.
Many of the inputs required for India’s future growth, including critical minerals, can be sourced from Australia, the envoy said.
Green said he met Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday to discuss deepening of trade ties, but did not give a timeline by when he sees the next phase of the trade ties getting finalised.
“We’ve had now nearly a dozen rounds of negotiations. We’re getting towards the business end of this. I’m tempted to put a deadline on it, as you want me to, but I’m not going to,” he said.
Green was speaking on the sidelines of an award event organised by India Australia Business and Community Alliance here.