Senator Nampijinpa Price talks to Peta Credlin on Credlin, Sky News 

8 September 2025

Subjects: Support for Australians of Indian ancestry and Indian diaspora; concerns with Labor’s mass migration agenda.

E&OE……………

PETA CREDLIN:
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, well she has never shied away from plain speaking. It is one of the reasons she rose to prominence during the 'No' campaign. And she joins me now after a pretty tumultuous few days in and around the parliament and beyond. Welcome, Senator Price. I wanted to start, if I can, tonight. I want to lay out a brief chronology of events because a lot has been said in relation to comments you have made, and then other things have happened over the weekend. So, let's lay it out, for my audience. Last Wednesday afternoon, you were on the ABC and suggested that Labor was importing too many migrants, some of them especially from the Indian community because of a propensity to vote Labor. Let's remind everyone of exactly what was said.

[Excerpt]

SENATOR JACINTA NAMPIJINPA PRICE:
There is a concern with the Indian community and only because there has been large numbers and we can see that reflected in the way that the community votes for Labor at the same time. So, if they are going to see a reflection that these individuals are going to vote for us more so than other parts of the community, well then of course they are going to express the view that we'll get those sorts of individuals into our community.

[End excerpt]

PETA CREDLIN:
All right, the next day, a good 12 hours on from that, on Thursday, Sussan Ley's power broker, your colleague Alex Hawke, called your office looking for you. He spoke to one of your staff. Later that same day, you were in contact with Hawke. And then on Sunday, my colleague, Andrew Clennell, reported – presumably because Hawke or someone from his office had briefed out the whole exchange – that Hawke had called you and told you to apologise to the Indian community. That then caused you to go public on Sunday claiming that Hawke had berated your staff and told them that if you didn’t apologise, you would go the way of other Liberal women recently sacked from the front bench. Today, on Laura Jayes programme this morning on Sky News, Alex Hawke had this to say.

[Excerpt]

ALEX HAWKE:
She was upset that I hadn't called her direct, but I called her office and asked to speak to her and I might have had a one-to-two minute conversation with her staffer and I advised her that if she was told that was angry that wasn't correct. …

She got a version of our conversation that I'd said, look I told her, I said that's not what happened I simply asked for you and you know, could we get some video from you. …

And I didn't berate anybody, and I have no, you know I rang somebody at random and said can I speak to your boss?

LAURA JAYES:
Did you make that inference to Jacinta: if she didn’t apologise that it might affect her political career?

ALEX HAWKE:
No, so I didn't make that point at all.

[End excerpt]

PETA CREDLIN:
And over the weekend, when asked if you should apologise for those comments on the ABC Wednesday last week, Sussan Ley sidestepped the issue. She did not say publicly that you should apologise. So, I tell you what, Jacinta Price, tonight, where do things stand?

SENATOR JACINTA NAMPIJINPA PRICE:
Well, firstly, again, the regret that I have is that I wasn’t clearer in terms of my comments on the ABC. And since then, you know, made those points very clear and made a clarification. And also, on Friday, spoke to Australia Today, an Indian-Australian media outlet in order to make those clarifications and had a very lovely conversation with them after they reached out to me to do so.

Look my concern is that my colleague did berate my staffer and which was the reason for why I contacted him in the first instance because of that conversation, which took about five or six minutes with my staffer – not one to two. And I found it highly inappropriate to have that kind of conversation with another colleague's staffer. Also, to bring another colleague circumstances into the picture was certainly viewed as a threat. And I wanted to call that out. And again, as you mentioned, Andrew Clennell had obviously been briefed and that prompted me to respond to that.

PETA CREDLIN:
OK, there is a couple of issues related, but a little bit distinct.

There is the substance of what you said on the ABC, and as you say, the subsequent commentary you’ve had and the points you have tried to make about the misreading or the inference read from what you have said. We will get to that.

Then there is how it has been dealt with inside the Coalition. What surprises me, if the Leader or anyone senior in the party had a view about what you said on Wednesday, why they didn’t contact you on Wednesday and sort it out Wednesday. Why this has bled on for four or five days.

Did you speak to Sussan Ley herself on Wednesday, on Thursday, on Friday, over the weekend? Have you had that conversation with her? Has she expressed concern to you before today about what you said?

SENATOR JACINTA NAMPIJINPA PRICE:
No, I had not had a conversation with the Leader specifically about that issue. I suppose, you know, …

PETA CREDLIN:
.. Is that surprising?

SENATOR JACINTA NAMPIJINPA PRICE:
… The only thing that did occur was that...

PETA CREDLIN:
… Like, why send out a colleague? Sorry to interrupt you, but why send out, does that surprise you? Why send out a colleague?

SENATOR JACINTA NAMPIJINPA PRICE:
Look, absolutely. I suppose it did surprise me. And I guess I would expect that I would hear directly from the Leader herself if it was of a huge concern. It didn’t appear to be of huge concern. I suppose I made that clear also to understand from Alex why it was that he felt the need to call me and talk to me in quite an aggressive tone. No, I hadn't received any such call.

PETA CREDLIN:
All right, let's go to the substance of your comments. In empirical terms, if you look at the ABS data, there has been a considerable increase in the quantum of Indian-born migrants in Australia. That is a statement of fact. It has roughly doubled from 2013 to the latest stats we have got in 2023. So that is a statement fact.

It’s also a statement of opinion from a lot of pollsters, that a lot of this community, the Indian community – and it is not just this community, many migrant communities are similar – that they vote for Labor. Let's listen to Kos Samaras.

[Excerpt]

KOS SAMARAS:
Eighty-five per cent of the Indian diaspora voted for the Labor Party at the last election, thereabouts. It varies across the country.

JOURNALIST:
What was the number, sorry, Kos?

KOS SAMARAS:
About 85 per cent.

[End excerpt]

PETA CREDLIN:
Now, there’s a difference there between what your inference was – that Labor bring in Indians because Indians vote for Labor. We have a non-discriminatory policy. I am assuming you accept that that inference is wrong. But to the fact-based comments you made: those comments there from Kos Samaras about the recent voting intentions of this community – and also the large numbers of this community – isn’t a fact that the reason a lot of them vote for the Labor Party is because the Liberal Party has completely dropped the ball with a lot of these multicultural communities. I mean, the Liberal Party goes and knocks on their door during an election campaign, but doesn't go anywhere near these communities at all. And if you look in the broader part of the term – and if you look at the Indian community in particular – you couldn’t find a community better aligned to Liberal values. They believe in small business and the family and the rule of law. A lot of them come here speaking English, they’re hard working. I mean, these are just the sort of Australians that the Liberal Party should be absolutely going out of their way to make friends with. 

SENATOR JACINTA NAMPIJINPA PRICE:
Look absolutely. That is correct, Peta. I’ve always recognised members of our migrant community who are doing a remarkable job. I have got a great relationship with Indian members within my own community that I have supported – including business people in my community over the years in my role as Councillor and, of course, Deputy Mayor.

The point that I wanted to make was the way in which Labor does aggressively court the migrant community as they do the Indigenous community. Those points I laid out quite clearly. And that is of a concern of mine and they are points that I wanted to make.

I also wanted to make the point that mass migration is of huge concern. And that it does apply pressure on Australian families, on our infrastructure, on hospitals, schools, our housing.

Another thing that disappointed me was the fact that some of my colleagues chose to ignore those elements of this entire argument. But instead adopted the left-wing media's approach to applying pressure to me instead of pointing out those very facts.

I mean, coming from somebody whose part of a minority community, I know the aggressiveness with which Labor goes after Indigenous voters. And that is a point that I was certainly making as well.

PETA CREDLIN:
So, you’re not going to back down from continuing to pursue the issue? I saw you out there very strongly about the flag. But continuing to prosecute the case that the Australian migrant intake is too high, too much, too quickly, and too high at the moment – is that still going to be a feature of your advocacy?

SENATOR JACINTA NAMPIJINPA PRICE:
Look, absolutely. It’s not about who is coming in – it’s about how many migrants are coming and the pressure. The fact that we simply can’t provide for such great numbers.

I will also execute the issues across my portfolio and any other issues that are of concern to the Australian people. I will continue to do that.

I have asked our Leader if she would ask Alex Hawke to apologise to me for his conduct. You know, again, I'm a Liberal woman. And Liberal women need to be able to feel like they’re being supported wholeheartedly.

PETA CREDLIN:
All right, well, we will see what happens with that one, Jacinta Price. Thank you for joining me tonight.

I might say, say what you like about Julia Gillard. But if she wanted to deal with a colleague, if she had an issue with a colleague, she picked up the phone and called that colleague.

And I’ve worked for three Liberal Leaders. All of them had those conversations direct. So, Sussan Ley, don’t send your bovver boy out. If you have a problem with a colleague, pick up the phone – do it yourself.

# # #

[Postscript – After ad break]

PETA CREDLIN:
Welcome back. Just before we go to the UK, I just want to clarify something: I’ve got a message from Jacinta Price who said, just please make it clear that this morning, I did get a call from Sussan Ley. But that’s the first time they have spoken since this all blew-up last Wednesday.