Liberal senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has been rebuked by colleagues after sharing a social media clip from rightwing podcaster Sam Bamford that falsely claimed the Labor government was “importing” Indian migrants. The move resurrects a controversy that led to her sacking from the Liberal frontbench last year.
Background of the Controversy
Price, a Northern Territory senator, was removed from the frontbench by then-leader Sussan Ley in 2023 after suggesting the federal government’s migration program favored Indians to win Labor votes. She later clarified that Australia has a non-discriminatory migration program but refused to apologize for hurt caused to Indian Australians. Her refusal to publicly support Ley was the final straw.
Earlier this week, Price—who returned to the frontbench under new leader Angus Taylor—shared a clip from Bamford’s “2 Worlds Collide” podcast. In the clip, Bamford responded to an ABC Insiders segment about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Melbourne, where panellists discussed potential electoral benefits for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese from engaging with Australia’s Indian community. Bamford said, “We’re just importing Indians for votes. That’s pretty much what the ABC just said.”
False Claims and Party Response
Bamford’s claim is false because Australia’s immigration program is non-discriminatory, meaning it does not select or reject applicants based on nationality, race, gender, or religion. Price reposted the clip to her X account, and it remained visible as of Wednesday afternoon.
A spokesperson for Price told The Australian that the shadow minister for small business wanted to “highlight the ABC’s commentary around the prime minister’s engagement with the Indian-Australian community during prime minister Modi’s visit.” The spokesperson added, “The repost was not an endorsement of every comment made by the podcast host,” without specifying which parts she disagreed with.
Liberal senator Andrew McLachlan condemned the suggestion that Indian-Australians vote as a bloc, calling it “degrading.” He said, “Those that push this view are seeking to dehumanise people. In my experience, as with any community, there are variety of life experiences and a diversity of views.” He emphasized the Liberal Party’s heritage of supporting multiculturalism.
Internal Party Concerns
According to a senior Liberal, Price’s views do not “have a home” in the party, noting that some colleagues had always felt uneasy about her joining from the Nationals. This incident comes as a new internal discussion paper admits multicultural communities have “deep-rooted” concerns with the Liberals, urging the party to “instill message discipline” to prevent opponents from weaponizing its positions as “hostile or racist.”
This is the second time Price has been linked to Bamford, a prominent anti-immigration advocate with 400,000 Instagram followers. In May, she denied agreeing with his suggestion that Australia should stop migrants from India, China, Africa, and the Middle East “flooding the country,” despite footage showing her nodding during an interview.
Impact on Liberal Party
Multicultural communities, particularly Chinese Australians, have abandoned the Liberal Party at the past two elections, damaging their performance in seats in Sydney and Melbourne. The controversy underscores ongoing tensions within the party over immigration and multiculturalism.
