The political relevance of the Indian-Australian community requires no understating, particularly in Victoria, which has the largest and fastest growing Indian community in the country.
That’s obviously not escaped the notice of current Premier Jacinta Allan of the Victorian Labor Party, who so far this year has visited India, donned numerous saris, and renamed a lake in honour of Guru Nanak Ji.
Now, Opposition Premier and Shadow Multicultural Affairs Minister John Pesutto is also keen to canvass the South Asian vote, organising a second annual Victorian Liberal press conference to demonstrate their aptitude for all things multicultural.
Speaking to a variety of multicultural media outlets, Pesutto and various members of the Shadow Ministry outlined their vision for multiculturalism across portfolios, particularly housing, infrastructure and social cohesion. Victoria politicians South Asian voters
How did they fare?
Well, correctly identifying the ‘skills and mutual recognition bugbear’ of multicultural communities and discussions on intercultural exchanges leveraging on each culture’s festivals to build employment opportunities is promising.
There was also talk of reversing the new gas connection phaseout, a policy which ‘the government haven’t consulted on within our multicultural communities’ – another effort to demonstrate the Liberals are, pardon the pun, cooking with gas.
But perhaps the most surprising example of ‘delivering for multicultural communities’ was the Opposition’s preoccupation with retaining the Lord’s Prayer in Parliamentary proceedings despite Labor’s plans to remove it, organising a joint statement in support of the prayer from numerous faith leaders, including The Board of Imams Victoria and the Hindu Council of Australia.
Though certainly, as Pesutto expressed, the ‘idea of the prayer is that it inspires devotion’, and we needn’t ‘share in the religious precepts of the religion that the prayer stems from’, it’s hard to see how this enhances multiculturalism on the ground.
But on issues of social cohesion within the Indian community, Pesutto had a similarly prudent answer to the Premier, who has condemned the vandalizing of Hindu temples by Khalistan supporters.
“I think the most important thing that we can do at a state level is bring local community leaders and others who want to be a part of that conversation to try to mediate those differences, so they don’t erupt on the streets,” said Pesutto.
“The Indian diaspora is, I think, fortunate in that there’s a strong range of leaders across the Indian community who are part of what I’d call the upper echelons of multicultural leadership in Victoria. And I think the Indian community is well placed to be able to manage some of the [challenges].”
It was great to sit down with a remarkable leader @mitublange, owner of @MBFWorld and meet her hard working team in St Kilda today. JP@IFFMelb pic.twitter.com/asz31AY4mf
— John Pesutto (@JohnPesutto) October 8, 2024
But by far the largest effort to shore South Asian voters came in the form of promises to ‘deliver for new and emerging communities’, with Evan Mulholland, Shadow Minister for Outer Suburban Growth, keen to emphasise the lack of infrastructure in Melbourne’s outer suburbs as a grave concern.
“The Government will say things like [the Indian community’s] issues might be something to do with Kabaddi or what’s going on back home, or a student cap, which are important issues, but the most common thing I hear from the Indian community, particularly in the growth suburbs, areas like Kalkallo, Wallan and Craigieburn, is the state of our traffic,” he said.
“Donnybrook Road is an old farm track, a single lane road, and they’ve built tens of thousands of housing estates on either side.” Victoria politicians South Asian voters
Pesutto was keen to emphasise the detrimental effects of the Allan Labor Government’s major Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) project for the outer suburbs.
“The decisions we’re making on where to spend significant amount of money are generations long because they’re such significant amounts…that’s why we’re so desperate to try and convince the Premier and her Government don’t go ahead with the Suburban Rail Loop, because we’ve got options that are more pressing and compelling in other communities,” he said.
A key commitment made at the 2022 election, the SRL is backed by an $11.8 billion investment by the State Government and a $2.2 billion investment from the Albanese Labor Government. The Parliamentary Budget Office estimates the nominal cost to build and operate the entire SRL will be $216.7 billion across 2019 to 2084.
Work has already begun on 10km twin tunnels in Melbourne’s east, and depending on who you ask, it’s either too late to turn back, a ‘money sink’, or about damn time.
“The Suburban Rail Loop is a project Victorians want and need – it will slash travel times, build more homes and give Victorians more time in their day to do the things they love,” said Premier Allan in a statement.
Pesutto’s proposition is to scrap the SRL and reinvest these funds in Victoria’s growth corridors – however, he declined to divulge any priority areas or project they would invest in, instead citing the breadth of necessary work.
“They’re all connected. Some projects will be bigger than others, but they won’t be determined in a rushed way. We will waste no time when we get into office, should we be given that responsibility and privilege. We’ll work with stakeholders, with communities, with municipalities, because there’s a range of things,” Pesutto said.
As for the highly demanded Airport Rail (which was shelved indefinitely earlier this year): “We’ll have a look at it when we get in, but we do believe it’s a priority project.”
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With the conflict in the Middle East alienating large swathes of voters, politicians on both sides have turned in a big way to donning saris and lighting diyas to warm up South Asian constituents. But it’s one thing to celebrate Diwali, and another to legislate towards multiculturalism, and it all comes down to which party can achieve this better.
Equally, the sheer diversity of experiences and opinions within our community means we’re unlikely to vote as a homogenous bloc – so is there truly a way to secure Australia’s largest migrant voting base? Victoria politicians South Asian voters
READ MORE: Vic Premier Jacinata Allan’s India trip: Highlights
