20 July 2009

Minister takes studying in Australia safety message to India

The Australian Immigration Minister Chris Evans has arrived in the Indian capital New Delhi for talks about the attacks on Indian nationals studying in Australia.

Senator Evans says he wants to reassure Indians that Australia is a safe destination for international students and will meet with several senior Indian government ministers during his stay before heading to Sri Lanka on Wednesday.

Senator Evans told Sky News there is no doubt that publicity about recent attacks on international students has heightened concerns in India.

"Part of what I intend to do on this visit is to try and reassure Indians that we're a safe place to study, that we're a multicultural society and we don't have racist attitudes to people," he said.

"And Indian people are welcome to work, visit and study in Australia."

Senator Evans said the Indian Government has been reassured by efforts already made to improve safety.

He said the number of international students in Australia does not appear to have been damaged by recent attacks, and that more international students applied to study in Australia last month, than the month before.

"Recent figures show that the demand from Indian students has continued to be strong and in fact grew a little bit in June," he said.

"So I think we are having some success in convincing people that these are isolated criminal intent activities and not a reflection of the Australian attitude to Indian people."

 

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The Australian Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people with Australian visas and immigration.