Wednesday, 1 May 2024

Adjournment

Tourist visas

Matthew GUY (Bulleen) (19:00): (621) My adjournment matter tonight is to the Minister for Multicultural Affairs, and I am seeking for her to contact the federal minister for immigration, Andrew Giles, in relation to what is now very clear to Victoria’s Indian community, and that is straight-out discrimination against the Indian community and Indians trying to come to Australia, in particular to Victoria. There are some examples I have been made aware of, in fact researched myself, and I know they are true. One in particular, an older couple in their 60s, very professional – both of them work in government back in Delhi, where they have plenty of money, a reasonable life, they have family overseas, they have been to the United States, they have been to Great Britain, to Canada – applied for a two-week holiday visa to come to Australia, to Melbourne, for a wedding and found themselves being knocked out for no reason whatsoever. They are being excluded and being knocked out. Another example is of a young female health worker – Indian passport, based in London, would be a huge asset to our health network here in Victoria – who applied to come, again on a tourist visa sponsored by her family here in Victoria, and she for no reason is knocked out.

How can this be being done to one community? How is it possible the Indian community are being clearly, clearly discriminated against for tourist visas to Australia at a time when we are meant to be engaging the world’s biggest democracy, what is now the most populous country in the world? People, including me as an MP, go to represent our state to India, seeking as much as we can to engage India, and we have a situation where these people are being knocked out in terms of their tourist applications. I want the minister to intervene and – on behalf of Victoria, on behalf of the investment, on behalf of the human factor that there is in this – contact her federal counterpart to seek an explanation why this is occurring, to provide that explanation to Victoria’s Indian communities and to act – not to do nothing, but to stand up for Victoria and for Victoria’s Indian community to get the answers they need and that I think this Parliament needs. Our state needs to ensure that the minister is acting on behalf of Victoria to represent our interests with the national Parliament and the national minister and protecting our Indian community and their families wanting to visit Victoria.