Australian minister admits ‘curry-bashing’ damaged image

Australian foreign minister Stephen Smith, in New Delhi to repair ties, admitted on Wednesday that the recent attacks on Indian students Down Under caused “considerable damage” to the country’s image, but assured his government had “zero tolerance” towards racism and “abhors violence”.

In the last couple of months, Canberra, which was initially in a
state of denial, has acknowledged that some, though not all, of these attacks may have been racist.

Australia is trying its best to grapple with the problem and has been able to convince New Delhi that though the attacks have not stopped, the issue was being taken up at the highest levels of government and a sincere attempt was being made to protect the over 1.2 lakh Indian students in that country.

Smith gave a talk at Delhi’s elite St Stephen’s College on Wednesday morning. He invited students to Australia for higher studies and claimed the country was safe. He said the Australian Institute of Criminology had been roped to study the attacks and come up with an “exhaustive report”.

“Studies done by our police gave us statistics, but they weren’t exhaustive. The Australian Institute of Criminology, which is a private body, is now assessing the situation to establish a better understanding of the attacks as well as see if the perception that Indian students are targeted is true,” Smith said, adding,
“These studies will give us a deeper understanding if we [government] are doing all we can to address the issue.”