Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has rejected claims that she endorsed anti-migrant remarks during a podcast, accusing the government of seeking to make an issue as a distraction from “their aspiration-killing Budget and the pressures Australians are facing right now”.
In a statement, Senator Price said:
“I was asked a nearly 700-word, wide-ranging question covering multiple issues, which the interviewer himself concluded by saying: “I mean that’s a lot of information” — and I agreed that it was. My response was to that remark. It was not intended as an endorsement of every point raised across a lengthy monologue.”
She defended her broader comments as being about migration pressures, housing and social cohesion, arguing Labor had brought in a record — and unsustainable — 1.4 million people in four years.
“Australians are rightly concerned about the impact that has on housing, infrastructure and the cost of living. I was very specific in my remarks that people who come to Australia should adopt Australian values, contribute positively and support social cohesion. I also made clear in the interview that Australian identity should not be defined on ethnic grounds”, said Senator Price in her statement.
She also denied endorsing discrimination, saying:
“In no way were my remarks in the podcast endorsing discrimination based on race, ethnicity or religion.”
Earlier, appearing on the 2Worlds Collide podcast on Wednesday, host Sam Bamford said: “We can’t keep flooding us with hundreds of thousands of Indians, Chinese, Africans, Middle Easterns. And Gazans for that matter for the refugee status.”
Senator Price responded:
“Yeah, look, absolutely. And I totally agree. I mean, if people want to come to Australia and become Australians, they have to adopt our values full stop. There’s no two ways about it.”
The comments triggered backlash from Labor MPs and multicultural advocates, with the government accusing the Coalition of adopting rhetoric associated with One Nation.
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