Cricket easing tensions over attacks on Indian students in Australia

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BURROWS : It's a sport loved equally in Australia and India. So amid a time of tension between Australians and Indians, at community and government level, what better way to promote harmony than through a game of cricket. The Australian Immigration Minister Chris Evans says the match is another small step in helping repair Australia's image in India.

EVANS: Well I think they'll get the message that what's occurred has been isolated incidents, that they don't represent Australia or Australia's views of Indian people, that we have much that we share in common, that we have a lot of Indian settlers in Australia who've made good lives.

BURROWS : Senator Evans met representatives of Melbourne's Indian community to discuss the recent violent attacks on foreign students. He admits more needs to be done to help the close to 100 thousands Indian students studying in Australia.

EVANS: I think we haven't perhaps provided enough social support to support the growth in Indian student, or foreign student, numbers in Australia. We've had a huge growth in recent years of foreign students.

BURROWS: The attacks on Indian students have made front page news both in India and Australia, threatening the success of Australia's thriving international student education sector. Some say the attacks are racist but Senator Evans disagrees.

EVANS: From what I've seen most of it has been acts of random violence. The police are obviously better able to comment but from what I've seen these have been criminal acts directed at people and opportunistic. They have not been race hate groups touring the community.

BURROWS: And he says the way the media has covered the issue isn't helping.

EVANS: The Indian media reporting has not been as balanced as one would hope. The couple of incidents have been represented as a much more systemic, more general violence against India and race based. I don't think that's true. That's not the advice I get. So it is important that we send a different message to India.

BURROWS: Indian students have held demonstrations in Melbourne and Sydney calling on police to do more. And the president of the Federation of Indian Students in Australia, Amit Menghani, says improvements are being noticed.

MENGHANI: They have actually taken the initiative of increasing the police workforce, which is a fantastic step. Then they said that they will be patrolling around the train stations, which is a good thing. Lighting of the streets near the stations areas, which is another good thing. Helicopters roaming around, it's another good thing.

BURROWS: Leading senior constable Craig Spicer is a community liason officer with Victoria Police. He says recent action by Victoria Police is making a difference.

SPICER: I think relations have improved and this today will highlight the relations and just show the Indian students that we are committed to working with you.