Yet to make mark Down Under

Monica Sharma

Australia proudly boasts of multiculturalism and inclusivity. However, the immigrants are yet to make their mark in the mainstream politics. One in four Australians is born overseas but the country’s political structure does not reflect the same. Indian-origin immigrants are yet to mark their presence in the House of Representatives, even though Indian-origin contestants have been trying their luck for over a decade. Unlike Canada, where Indian-origin candidates have made it to the mainstream politics, Australia is yet to see Indian candidates leaving their mark in the federal elections.

With the federal elections in May for 151 seats, Indian-origin immigrants, across Australia, are trying their luck to make it to the House of Representatives and the Senate. In the upcoming elections on May 18, Indian-origin contestants have not only been fielded by the mainstream parties, including the Labor and the Liberal, but also other parties. Some candidates are also in the fray as Independents. In a first, the Liberal and the Labor decided they would not allow the immigrants holding Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cards to contest. The candidates had to relinquish their cards.

Even Fraser Anning’s far-right party, Conservative National Party, has fielded an Indian immigrant, Rajan Vaid, from South Australia’s Hindmarsh. Dedicated to preserving the ethno-cultural identity, the party believes Australia to be an English-speaking predominantly European Christian society.  All laws made by Parliament are a must to be passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. After that these are signed by the Governor General. 

Political analysts believe the major parties need to widen the horizon and involve immigrants in their respective political affairs. As of now, the parties largely 

prefer having candidates who have English as their first language. 

Hailing from Varanasi, Sunny Chandra, an IIT graduate who is contesting as an Independent for Victoria’s Senate, says, “We need to have a vision, passion, and articulation to enter the Australian politics. The young Australian immigrants should come forward and participate in democracy to bring about a change in the mindsets.”

He says, “No political party or leader talks about the international students who are neglected even though they contribute in a big way to the Australian economy. They are exploited by unscrupulous agents in Australia, besides harsh and unreal policies of the government.”

Chandra adds, “To have a say in the policies we need to stand up, participate and question the government. Until and unless we come forward, the immigrant-related problems will remain neglected, as the government can never relate to the issues.”

Hemant Dave, fielded by Liberal Party from Makin in South Australia, says, “I have always wanted to serve the community, and by representing the people, we can highlight the issues that concern us.”

Prakul Chhabra, who works as an adviser with an Australian bank, and Sahil Chawla, a real estate agent, have been fielded by mining magnate Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party. Amrik Singh Thandi, who recently contested for the Legislative Council of South Australia, says: “The reason immigrants are not able to enter the mainstream is division within the community. We are divided on religious lines and otherwise. If we all come together we will become a formidable force which the powers that be cannot ignore. The contribution of immigrants can’t be ignored, be it economically, culturally or socially.”

The candidates are announcing policies to attract immigrant votes such as long stay parent visa with easy conditions and speeding up citizenship applications.

Shireen Morris, Labor’s candidate for Deakin, was born in Australia and has a Fijian-Indian lineage. Morris, through her videos on social media, has been sending the message that she will focus on quality educaton, better healthcare, action on climate change to bring down power prices. A constitutional lawyer advocating for the rights of indigenous Australians, Morris feels the political leaders should stand up for immigrants of diverse backgrounds.

Morris’s father is Gujarati and mother’s family was originally from South India. She is a strong supporter of multiculturalism. She says her party has decided to focus on providing funds for community language schools to keep traditional languages and culture strong. The party will try to curb delays in the processing of citizenship applications, she adds. 

Chawla, living in Australia for more than a decade, has taken up issues pertaining to the community and has been helping the new immigrants in settling. He feels it’s important to be active on a social or political platform to support the community.

Even though the voters in Australia along with the different political parties are divided over the percentage of intake of immigrants in Australia, the number of immigrants has risen incredibly in the last one decade and Indians are among the top.

The federal elections in Australia always bring to the fore the issue of immigration and how it has been adding to population growth and pressure on the civic infrastructure besides transportation. There are some political parties who are not all out for immigration, citing the reason that immigrants are overburden on resources. The Liberal government has announced a massive cut on immigration for the next four years. The recent announcement of a cut in immigration was also termed as anti-immigration populism.