Australia is absolutely safe for students: New South Wales premier

New South Wales premier Barry O'Farrell today said that racial attacks on Indian students in Australia were a thing of the past and assured absolute safety to them while welcoming more university-level collaborations between the two countries.

The New South Wales(NSW) premier statement comes as a confidence building measure in the wake of racist trouble for Indian students in the recent years, which had triggered widespread protests and had also threatened to strain the Indo-Aus diplomatic ties.  "Any student who comes to Sydney or any student who comes to any city in Australia is absolutely safe. People there can go about to study, tourism or to their work without fear of violence. We are particularly strong on that. Universities have ensured that extra steps are taken, including building extra relationships with local communities," O'Farrell said at a programme here.

He said there are more foreign students in New South Wales, than any other state in Australia. "New South Wales earns more from international education. Education is one of the growing sectors of my state," he added.

O'Farrell who is also an MP said that the Australian government was keen to see more universities coming to their country. "Australia provides high-quality education at high-school, vocational education or be at the university. We are keen to see greater collaborations in our universities," he said.