Coalition in damage control over Jacinta Price’s migration claim, Senator won’t apologise

Australia’s Indian community has been celebrated by the opposition leader after a coalition senator refused to apologise for falsely claiming Labor was taking in migrants to bolster their vote.

In the aftermath of mass anti-immigration rallies attended by neo-Nazis, Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price on Wednesday said the protests were fuelled by concerns about migration before claiming Labor “allow those in that would support their policies”, pointing to the Indian diaspora.

The coalition has since been forced into damage control, reiterating its support for the Indian community while insisting its migration policy was non-discriminatory.

“I’m fighting for every single Australian, no matter where you came from, and our Australian Indian community are amazing,” Opposition Leader Sussan Ley told Sky News on Thursday.

“You contribute, as Australian Indians, so much to our country.

“We know how hard you work, your family values and the contribution you make across this country and as opposition leader, I value that incredibly.”

While Ms Ley said Senator Price had “corrected” her comments, the NT senator doubled down.

“I don’t believe I have anything to apologise about,” she told reporters in Canberra.

Racism was on full display at Sunday’s anti-immigration rallies, as promotional flyers for the events used false claims to fuel anti-Indian rhetoric.

Shadow Attorney-General Julian Leeser said the coalition believed in a “race-blind” migration policy and paid tribute to the ways the Indian community had contributed to Australian history, noting some had served the Australian Imperial Force in World War I.

“These people love Australia,” he told ABC radio.

“They loved it enough to give their lives for it - that’s the same that Indian Australians are doing today and I think they make a wonderful contribution.”

Members of the far right spoke at some protests, and in Melbourne, prominent neo-Nazi and white nationalist Thomas Sewell has be charged after he and about 40 men dressed in black allegedly stormed Camp Sovereignty after Sunday’s rally.

Though the actions of neo-Nazis have been widely condemned across the political spectrum, members of both major parties said not all in attendance were affiliated with the far right.

Labor has pointed the finger at the opposition for stoking division in the community and using migrants as scape goats while the opposition claimed the government’s approach to migration had been “rushed and chaotic”.

Independent senator David Pocock condemned Senator Price’s remarks and urged for politicians to foster social cohesion.

“The comments are so divisive and damaging to a country that should pride itself on being multicultural,” he told reporters in Canberra.

“I would urge members of this place to really reflect on the way that this debate is being handled.”