Indian students unsure about studying in Australia

Updated May 29, 2009 19:33:13

Australia is scrambling to salvage its international education image, amid claims that a series of attacks on Indian students in several states are racially motivated. Police say there's no racial motive .. that the attacks are opportunistic. And Australia's deputy Prime Minister has told Radio Australia that the government is not only appalled at the violence, but won't tolerate it and is taking action. Our Canberra correspondent Linda Mottram reports the issue goes not only to Australia's reputation and student safety, but also to the future of a 15-Billion dollars export industry.

Presenter: Karon Snowdon
Speakers: Julia Gillard, Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister; Sujatha Singh, India's High Commissioner to Australia; Students in Mumbai

MOTTRAM: The series of bashings and stabbings involving Indian students has shocked India's leaders and Australia's too. There've been arrests. But tensions are running high. And, at stake for Australia, is its reputation as an education provider to the Asia Pacific region and the country's third largest export earner. Julia Gillard is Australia's deputy prime minister and education minister.

GILLARD: I absolutely condemn these attacks and obviously our sympathy goes to those students who have been injured and to their family members who would be very worried about them.

MOTTRAM: In India news of the attacks has made headlines in the media .. where the question is being asked, what is Australian doing to protect India's students. Some who would be students in Australia say they've reconsidered.

STUDENT 1: No I don't think I'll go to Australia after this. I prefer going to New Zealand or America but not to Australia after this happened.

STUDENT 2: I wouldn't prefer to go to Australia.

STUDENT 3: I thought I'll be doing my MBA from Australia and if the students are really targetting on racist basis I think its really wrong.

MOTTRAM: India's High Commissioner Sujatha Singh has taken the matter up on behalf of her government, holding talks with key officials and going public with her country's concerns.

SINGH: Frankly we are all appalled by these attacks. As I said, I visited Sherman, the student who is lying in hostpital critically ill His parents are poor farmers from Andra Pradesh. You can imagine the shock that it is to parents to have their child lying critically injured in a foreign hospital. There has been outrage and there is very serious concern about why these attacks are taking place.

MOTTRAM: Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard is giving her assurance that all that's possible will be done to ensure the 430-thousand international students in Australia are safe and are treated well.

GILLARD: Australia overwhelmingly is a safe country but I have recognised as minister for education that we need to do more to ensure that students who come to study in Australia from overseas are safe. I am moving to make sure that we listen to the voice of international students in this country about what would help them feel safer and be safer and I am of course working with our state and territory government's to make sure that police respond and respond well to these incidents.

MOTTRAM: You've announced that you'll convene a round-table to discuss a lot of those concerns and that's been welcomed by student organisations of many varieties in Australia but is there a risk here that Australia's image is tarnished permanently?

GILLARD: I think what's important for our nation is to respond when we see people getting hurt in our community. Of course our local police say that they do not see race as a motivation in these attacks but people have been hurt, international students who have come to this country have been hurt, and we condemn that and we want to work with our international student community to do everything we can possibly to assist and to make sure that people feel safer and get all of the information and assistance that they need.

MOTTRAM: The Indian High Commissioner Mrs Sujatha Singh has said that she feels there is a race element as well as the opportunism in these particular attacks. Do you need to address the race issue more boldly perhaps?

GILLARD: Our local police have certainly stressed the opportunistic nature of these attacks. They have occurred on public transport, they have occurred late at night, it does appear in relation to the attacks that roberry has been a motive so our local police have been stressing the opportunist nature of the attacks but we do as national leaders want to make it clear to every member of our community and on behalf of the Australian government that of course we won't tolerate any attacks, we won't tolerate any racial motivation to any attacks, that's abhorrent to Australians and to the Australian way and we want to send a message loud and clear that international students are welcome in our community.