The Hindu Business Line : Australia is safe for Indian students, says delegation

Mr Paul Evans (left), Assistant Commissioner of Police, Victoria, reassures an Indian student intending to go to Australia in Hyderabad on Thursday.

Our Bureau

Hyderabad, July 9 A high-powered delegation from Australia, including a senior police officer from Victoria, on Thursday sought to assure Indians that it is safe to pursue higher studies Down Under.

Some of the recent attacks on Indian students are isolated instances, which are either for financial gain akin to robbery or instances of desperation and certainly not racial, said Mr Colin Walters, First Assistant Secretary of Australian Department of Education.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Mr Walters said on an average about one lakh Indian students now pursue higher studies in Australia due to the quality of education and life the country provides. This number has gone up four times in the last few years.

In fact, Australia hosts about 2,50,000 Indian immigrants and settlers from nearly 200 countries, and is a safe place to live and pursue higher education and also lead quality life, he explained.

The Assistant Commissioner of Victoria Police, Mr Paul Evans, said most of the people involved in recent attacks have been rounded up and it will take a year or so to bring them to justice. It was found that most of these incidents were attributed to drug abuse, alcoholism or robbery and there are no evidences of racial bias, as reported.

Legislation

“In fact, Australia had legislated against racism about 40 years ago and it is stringently implemented. Having stepped up patrolling, Victoria, which accounts for nearly 46,000 Indian students, has seen lower incidents of robbery,” Mr Evans said.

The graphic footage of a couple of incidents captured on CCTV has shocked people in Australia just as it did people living in India. Therefore, a lot of pro-active measures have been taken to check such incidents, Mr Evans said.

Asked if this would make studying in Australia less attractive for Indian students, Mr Collins said these incidents would not deter students pursuing higher education. “We do not believe that we will lose students to other countries such as Canada, New Zealand and Ireland,” he said.

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Queensland University of Technology, Prof Arun Sharma, said the university sees opportunities for greater cooperation between Indian and Australian universities in areas of climate change, sustainability and also in areas such as science and technology.

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