New Delhi: Australia on Monday said it has
"zero tolerance" for racial attacks on Indian students on its
soil and denied that such incidents led to decrease in number
of students enrolling in universities in the country.
"Our Government has very clearly said that it has got
zero tolerance for any form of violence against Indian
students or against anyone else in Australia and we pride
ourselves as a multi-cultural nation," visiting Australian
Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard said.
Interacting with students of Lady Sri Ram College for
Women here, Gillard sought to put an end to the palpable
worries about studying in Australia following the spate of
attacks.
She said the state governments in her country have
"geared up with police crackdowns. There are now more police
visible on the streets patrolling those areas where there has been problems."
Gillard, who met HRD Minister Kapil Sibal earlier in
the day, said her government has asked a former member of
Australian Parliament to conduct "a review to see what more
things we can do to provide additional legislative protection
for India students and other international students."
Whether the attacks led to a fall in number of
students coming to Australia, Gillard, who is also the
country's Education Minister said "we are seeing from figures
the continuing demands from Indian students to come and study
in country".
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, August 31, 2009, 18:05