‘An unnecessary spend’ and ‘a branding exercise’ is some of the feedback the City of Melbourne have received on their proposed $1.2 million Little India precinct, part of the council’s draft Budget 2026-27.
A special council meeting held at Melbourne Town Hall on Tuesday night heard public submissions towards the draft budget, with the majority of the 129 submissions made prior to the meeting unsupportive of the Little India proposal.
“Diversity is one of Melbourne’s greatest strengths,” noted Henry Macedo, a Docklands resident who spoke at the event.
“But at this time, Docklands does not need another branding exercise. It needs radical investments in the everyday issues that residents like me face.”
Meanwhile, Federation of Indian Associations Victoria (FIAV) President Vasan Srinivasan spoke in favour of the project, asking for the initial investment to be raised to $5-10 million.
“This is about creating a permanent cultural, tourism, business and community destinations that will benefit all Australians,” he said.
City of Melbourne Councillor Philip Le Liu says he regrets the haste with which the precinct announcement was made, viewing it as a contributing factor towards the negative reception.
“I do think we need to do a bit more consultation,” he told Indian Link. “I think the way we have communicated has either confused a lot of people or have put a lot of people on edge which is not the point.”
Further consultation is planned for the proposal, with the City of Melbourne inviting the Indian community to provide more feedback.
Why has the proposal not been supported?
Meeting documents note the submissions ‘cite risks to multicultural identity, top-down delivery, service diversion, and social/economic impacts as key concerns’.
“..allocating $1.2 million toward a themed precinct raises concerns about priorities. I believe these funds could be more effectively directed toward essential services, infrastructure improvements, community housing initiatives, or support programs that benefit a broader cross-section of the community,” a submission writes.
Most notably, the scope of community consultation performed is unclear, and has contributed to questions over the project’s choice of location and feasibility.
“Major place based decisions should be transparent, resident led and grounded in genuine input,” noted Docklands resident Henry Macedo at the meeting.
Documentation from the meeting justifies choosing Docklands “due to existing Indian businesses, a clustering of Indian Australian residents, and because of its transport links. It was also the preferred location amongst surveyed stakeholders.”
Cr Le Liu has told Indian Link the proposal originated from both council and community demand.
“We’ve got Little Italy, we’ve got Chinatown, we’ve got the Greek precinct. There are people who want [Little India], but they just don’t know how to do it. The role of government is always to try and push for one,” he said.
Local news has also observed support for the precinct; however, traders are still unclear on the details of how the funding will be used and have expressed “cautious optimism”.
“The council did consult with us. Clearly the [Indian] community wants it, otherwise they will not make the announcement,” Little India Traders’ Association representative Gautam Gupta told Docklands News.
“But the problem is when the delivery is done, we haven’t been told what they’re going to do with the money. We hope it’s a good solution for the community and society and can bring people together. So, we hope it’s more like a community solution rather than a political fix.”
Cr Le Liu agrees the announcement’s ambiguity has raised concerns in the community.
“A lot of Docklands residents have said, why did we get picked? We didn’t get a say,” Cr Le Liu notes. “We should probably have gone out a bit more to do that [consultation].”
Xenophobia has likely also played a role in wounding the Little India Docklands proposal, with the Indian community experiencing markedly heightened online racism following the announcement.
“There is already a lot of hate towards Indian immigrants in Melbourne and this will create further divide,” notes one submission.
Vasan Srinivasan has appealed for community unity over the Little India Docklands proposal.
“I call upon Indian community leaders, organisations and business groups to write respectfully to their local members to encourage them to support this initiative,” he said at the meeting.
Will there still be a Little India Docklands?
The negative response to this draft budget has left many in the community feeling disappointed and uncertain about the project’s fate.
But despite the majority negative response, Cr Le Liu says further consultations will occur before council decide whether to proceed with the project.
“We need to hear from the Docklands residents, from the Indian community and others…” Cr Le Liu stresses. “If majority of the feedback from residents and the community came back and said we don’t want it in Docklands, it might be fair for us to say, okay, maybe we need to put it back on the drawing board.”
“But without jumping the gun, we just need to hear the feedback.”
He hopes to see the Indian community contribute more submissions and take greater ownership of the project’s vision.
“Ultimately, it’s going to be having to be the Indian community needs to step up to make it worthwhile,” Cr Le Liu says.
“We’re bringing people together and leading the way, but then after that, I don’t think we are the most appropriate [people]. It’s up to the community to drive it, to own it.”
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