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AAP
AAP
Politics
Lucinda Garbutt-Young

Liberal senator faces backlash over migrant discussion

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has distanced herself from a podcaster's comments about cuts to migration. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)

A Liberal frontbencher has distanced herself from a podcaster who said Australia should stop "hundreds of thousands" of migrants coming from India, China, Africa and the Middle East.

But Jacinta Nampijinpa Price's appearance on the 2 Worlds Collide podcast has angered some community groups and prompted calls for her resignation.

In the episode, military veteran and podcast host Sam Bamford said he felt the government was ignoring that "Australia is for Australians".

"We can't keep flooding us with hundreds of thousands of Indians, Chinese, Africans, Middle Easterns and Gazans," Bamford said.

A video of the podcast, posted to YouTube, shows Senator Nampijinpa Price nodding and making affirmative noises.

Mr Bamford then said he had outlined a lot of information, before asking the senator for her thoughts.

"Yeah, absolutely. I totally agree," she replied.

"If people want to come to Australia, they have to adopt our values, full stop."

Labor MPs pounced on the comments and demanded her resignation, accusing the Northern Territory senator of punching down on migrant communities.

Senator Nampijinpa Price later issued a clarifying statement, saying she had not intended to endorse "every point raised across a lengthy monologue".

"I was very specific in my remarks that people who come to Australia should adopt Australian values, contribute positively and support social cohesion," she said.

"I also made clear in the interview that Australian identity should not be defined on ethnic grounds. In no way were my remarks in the podcast endorsing discrimination based on race, ethnicity or religion."

Senator Nampijinpa Price is the opposition spokeswoman for skills and training.

Angus Taylor
Angus Taylor says Jacinta Nampijinpa Price's views on migration reflect the Liberals' position. (Lukas Coch/AAP PHOTOS)

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor defended his frontbench colleague, saying her views reflected the Liberal Party's position.

"We shouldn't discriminate on immigration based on race or ethnicity or religion, but we should based on values," he said.

Diana Abdel-Rahman, from the Canberra Multicultural Community Forum, said the podcast exchange followed a familiar formula.

"Make the enemy the minority, focus on them and blame the minority. Sadly, people do fall for it," she told AAP.

"It's a trend. It's an issue that's happening in the UK, in the US and in other so-called democracies, where attacking minorities is a way to redirect people on an issue."

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