Damage done by Jacinta Price’s Indian immigration comment likely to long haunt Liberals

In their different ways, Liberal frontbenchers Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Alex Hawke are two bare-knuckle fighters.

Price, who switched from the Nationals in the (unachieved) hope of becoming deputy leader of the opposition, has made her career on cultivating a high profile by her outspokenness, culminating in her role in the “no” case in the Voice referendum.

Hawke is a factional brawler and enforcer. He used to be a Scott Morrison numbers man; now he protects Sussan Ley’s back. On the backbench under Peter Dutton, Ley made him industry spokesman, manager of opposition business in the House of Representatives and a member of the leadership group.

Price’s inflammatory comment about Indian immigration followed by her claims about a subsequent stoush with Hawke have created major problems for Ley, most obviously with the Indian community but also by exposing (again) party disunity.

Ley may have more potential appeal to some middle ground voters than Dutton did, but she lacks one important advantage he had – the willingness of Liberal followers to unite behind the leader.

Price was part of a leadership ticket with Angus Taylor (although she did not run for deputy when Taylor lost to Ley). As a result of the failure of the ploy, her move to the Liberals, rather than promoting her career, has ended up costing her clout and a major public presence.

She is now sidelined in the junior shadow ministry of defence industry. She doesn’t sound too comfortable when speaking on portfolio issues, which provide her little opportunity anyway. But she’s willing to launch into other issues.

Hence her claim on the ABC last week that Labor promoted Indian immigration because this cohort voted for it.

(RedBridge’s Kos Samaras said on a recent podcast, The Great Australian Multiculturalism Debate, “85% of the Indian diaspora voted for the Labor Party at the last election, thereabouts. It varies across the country.”)

After Price’s comment, appalled Liberals immediately attempted to mop up. Against the background of outrage from many in the Indian community, Ley said the comment was wrong and wouldn’t be repeated. Price herself had quickly retreated – but, crucially, did not apologise.

Ley put out a video, and on Sunday visited members of the Indian community at Little India in Harris Park, Sydney. But then Price struck another blow. In a damaging social media post, she described what she said had been Hawke’s reaction.

She accused him of “cowardly and inappropriate conduct”, berating one of her staff (ahead of reaching her personally), and of making an apparent indirect threat.

“He even pressed my staff that if I did not comply with his requests, I may end up like another female member of the Coalition,” Price said. This was a reference to Jane Hume, who had made a claim in the election campaign about “Chinese spies” helping Labor. Hume was demoted to the backbench by Ley.

“If people want to talk about a so-called ‘woman problem’ in the Liberal Party, then it’s this: we don’t stand up for women when they are mistreated by our own colleagues,” Price wrote.

Hawke denied most of Price’s claims, including that he had berated her staffer.

The contact by Hawke, a former minister for immigration, citizenship, migrant services and multicultural affairs, was prompted by wanting to urge Price to apologise, as well as to express his frustration with her comment. “I was of the view an apology would fix it quickly because she didn’t mean it. I said to her, I don’t think you’re a racist person,” Hawke said when giving his version of the exchanges on Sky on Monday.

“After those flyers we saw before the anti-immigration rallies, which singled out the Indian community, this was a particularly bad week for these comments,” he said.

For Hawke, the issue has a very practical element. His Sydney seat of Mitchell has a large Indian population. The seat is now marginal.

In her long Sunday statement, Price claimed her ABC remarks had been taken out of context by some in the media and that she had never intended to disparage the Indian community. Indeed, she said, her own children had Indian ancestry.

By refusing to deliver an immediate apology, as many Liberals wanted, and by making public her fury against Hawke, Price ensured the issue would widen and its damage deepen. Within the Liberal Party there is some concern about the possibility of future private conversations with Price being weaponised.

The question of an apology became a test of strength between Price’s determination (or stubborness) and the Liberal Party’s authority.

On Sky News last night, Price sought to turn the tables, saying she had asked Ley to ask Hawke to apologise to her.

On Monday, Ley held a round table with Indian community representatives, as well as an earlier-arranged meeting with members of the Chinese language press.

Ley will put in every effort to try to repair relations with the Indian community. But memories linger on after such incidents. The Liberals are likely to live with the consequences of Price’s intervention for a long time.

This article has been updated.

This article has been corrected. It originally stated that Alex Hawke’s Labor opponent at the last election was of Indian heritage. This is incorrect.