In the wake of the recent anti-immigration protests across Australia, the Anthony Albanese government has sought to reassure India that the Indian-Australian community is welcomed and valued, and that they belong in the country they now call home.
On a two-day visit to New Delhi, Anne Aly, Australian Minister for Multicultural Affairs, said, “To the people who would tell immigrants to go home, I say, they are home.”
Speaking at the Ambedkar International Centre at Janpath, the minister extolled BR Ambedkar’s vision for India as iconic, “not only for India but throughout the world”.
“That vision, that equal opportunity, inclusivity and pluralism are key human values to which we should all aspire,” Aly, the first Muslim woman cabinet minister in Australia’s history, said.
Aly said that modern Australia, in many aspects, is a migrant nation. “Half of all Australians were born overseas or have a parent born overseas… I’m an Australian but I’m also a migrant,” said Aly, who is of Egyptian descent.
“My story is of coming to Australia for opportunity and staying to give back. And many of the Australians of Indian heritage, our second largest migrant community, share a similar story,” she added.
“Not only are these Indian-Australians supporting the prosperity of Australia, they are also strengthening its trade and economic relations around the world, including with India,” she said.
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“And yet, Indian Australians have sometimes been made to defend their presence and their belonging to Australia,” she said, referring to the recent protests.
“Unfortunately, there are some in the world, including in Australia, who espouse intolerance… You may have heard of some recent anti-immigration rallies, including comments that were targeted specifically at Indian-Australians,” she said. “To have felt like they needed to justify their belonging. To justify their presence. I felt their anguish. No Australian should ever feel this way.”
Aly said, “Let me repeat my message, the Australian government’s message, to all Indian Australians: We value you. We thank you. We stand by you. You belong in Australia,” she said.
Aly said the divisive rhetoric expressed at the anti-immigration rallies is not shared by the overwhelming majority of Australians. “It is a minority, extremist sentiment held by a vanishing small group in our country,” she noted.
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She also made a special mention of diversity in Albanese’s cabinet and in the Australian parliament, which includes several Indians and those from other nationalities. “When Australians went to the voting booths, they elected the most diverse government in the history of the country. Several Indian Australians are now members of the Federal Australian Labour government, such as Zaneta Maskarinas, who is of Goan heritage, and Varun Ghosh, who swore his oath of allegiance in Parliament on the Bhagavad Gita,” she said.
“As Australia’s Minister for Multicultural Affairs, I will work tirelessly to ensure that all Australians, no matter their name, their skin colour or cultural background, feel safe, valued, and can participate fully in the (country’s) economic, social, and political life,” she remarked.
