Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has faced criticism from fellow Liberal Party members after sharing a social media clip that falsely claimed the Labour government was “importing” Indian migrants. The Northern Territory senator reposted a video from right-wing podcaster Sam Bamford, which repeated a similar allegation that led to her sacking from the frontbench last year.
The clip, originally posted on Bamford’s ‘2 Worlds Collide’ podcast, responded to an ABC discussion about Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s engagement with the Indian-Australian community during Narendra Modi’s visit. In it, Bamford said: “We’re just importing Indians for votes.” Australia maintains a non-discriminatory immigration program, meaning visa applicants are not selected based on nationality or ethnicity.
A spokesperson for Price told The Australian that the repost aimed to “highlight the ABC’s commentary” and was not an endorsement of every comment. The senator previously refused to apologise for similar remarks in 2023, which resulted in her removal from the frontbench under then-leader Sussan Ley. She was later reinstated under Angus Taylor.
Liberal senator Andrew McLachlan described the suggestion that Indian-Australians vote uniformly as “degrading” and “dehumanising”. Another senior Liberal, speaking anonymously, said Price’s views “do not have a home” in the party, noting that some colleagues remain uneasy about her transfer from the Nationals.
The controversy comes as an internal Liberal discussion paper acknowledges “deep-rooted” concerns among multicultural communities and urges the party to improve message discipline to avoid being seen as hostile or racist. Chinese-Australian voters, in particular, have abandoned the Liberals in recent elections, costing the party seats in Sydney and Melbourne.
