Former ministerial adviser Nitin Gupta has described Opposition Leader Brad Battin’s recent visit to China as a “step in the right direction”, but says Victoria should now look to India for its next phase of engagement. Speaking to The Indian Sun, Nitin outlined how a long, well-planned visit to India could help strengthen trade, investment and multicultural ties while building political trust with Victoria’s Indian community.
“I am not an expert on China. I have been to China eight or nine times—including brief trips to the industrial hubs, travelling mostly in the G Trains to those hubs,” he said. “Based on my experience working in multicultural affairs area, I would say that Brad’s long trip to China was a step in the right direction. For an economy and country the size of China, you do need to spend reasonable time over there to cover various things, and make the trip a fruitful one—rather than a tokenistic visit.”
He welcomed the presence of two Shadow Ministers on the trip but suggested a broader team could have made the visit more impactful. “On a personal level, ideally I would have liked to see Shadow Minister and Social Media Star Nicole Werner also travel with Brad. Her social media presence, and her Asian background would have appealed more to the young and swing voters, including the multicultural voters that Brad needs to attract towards the Liberals to topple the Allan government,” he said.
Nitin added that the presence of advisers from Victoria’s Chinese community would have been valuable but acknowledged that opposition budgets made international travel difficult. “The opposition tenure comes with limited budgets—making it very difficult for Opposition advisers to travel overseas. And not many are willing to spend money out of pocket to travel there either (like I had opted to do in July 2009—out of pocket to India with Ted).”
He said a visit like this could bring three types of dividends: political, business and investment. “The political mileage depends on what cultural events or monuments he did visit in China and how much pre and post visit media coverage Brad can manage in the local Victorian Chinese media,” he explained. “The business side means putting Victorian products on shelves in Chinese markets. The investment side depends on whether he met any billionaires or CEO-level executives during the trip. Brad would need to get out the message about his actual one-on-one meetings with those decision makers for this to bring any political dividends, and be taken seriously on the subject.”
Reflecting on past experiences, Nitin cautioned that continuity matters more than symbolism. “Mr. Ted Baillieu had done meetings with quite few billionaires during his visit to India in July 2009 as an Opposition leader. But then there was zero communication with them once he became the Premier and led the Super Trade delegation to India later in Feb 2011. There was no continuity,” he said. “So hopefully Brad can assure that there is some sort of continuity between trip in opposition, and the prospective future visit as possible Victorian Premier.”
Nitin said that given the size and economic potential of India, Brad should now undertake a similar long trip there. “Yes—definitely now I would expect Brad to do a similar long trip to India as well. The Victorian Indian community is perhaps slightly bigger than the Victorian Chinese community now. And the potential of Indian economy is comparable to the Chinese economy. So yes—I would like to see Brad do a similar long trip to India with relevant Shadow Ministers.”
If such a visit happens, Nitin said it should be built around five pillars: cultural connection, political meetings, investment attraction, film industry engagement and trade opportunities.
On the cultural front, he said it would be wise for Brad to connect with both Sikh and Hindu communities in India. “He should visit a relevant Sikh Temple in India as well, to send some positive messaging for Victoria’s Sikh community. Given the size of Victorian Hindu community—I would suggest that he visit a renowned Hindu Temple as well in India.”
For political engagement, Nitin said success would depend on who Brad meets and whether those connections have continuity once he becomes Premier. He also suggested building relationships with India’s billionaires and business leaders who could later serve as Victorian Business Ambassadors.
He sees huge potential in linking Victoria with India’s expanding film and wedding industries. “Whether he would meet and engage with film industry stakeholders like Randeep Hooda, Amit Sial, Khushbu Sundar, Rahul Tewary—those who have a strong Victorian connection—and what sort of assurance he can give that there would be engagement with them later as well when he becomes the Premier,” he said. “No wonder there has been no major spend in Victoria from any of the Indian film productions in last decade or so. Hopefully Brad can change that.”
Nitin said that success in India will depend on visibility and continuity. “Above would only yield political dividend if Brad can manage massive pre and post visit media coverage in local Australian Indian media. And also assure some level of continuity later as Premier in those areas.”
On trade, he said the focus should be on India’s biggest spend seasons. “Brad needs to target the two main spendathons in India—the Deepotsav/Diwali season and the Great Indian Wedding season—need to put Victorian products on the shelves and tables during these two massive opportunities.”
He also recommended that Brad’s itinerary include emerging cities beyond the metros. “Would he just travel to big metro cities, or make an effort to travel to places like Lucknow where the future growth is likely to happen? Visit place like Kannauj which can be a good market for Victorian Lavender. Visit a city like Haridwar, which can be a good market for Victorian Almonds, and Honey. Visit a city like Udaipur which is the most desired destination for grand Indian weddings, and work on putting Victorian products on shelves and tables of the great Indian wedding season.”
Recalling the Liberal Party’s 2018 announcement to nominate Udaipur royal Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar as Victorian Business Ambassador, Nitin said reviving that idea could help promote Victorian products in India’s luxury markets. “It would be interesting to see if Brad would back the 2018 Liberal announcement again, to help put Victorian products on shelves and tables of the great Indian wedding season with former Udaipur royal Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar as Victorian Business Ambassador.”
He added that Indian temple towns, waste recycling, river-cleaning and urban design projects were all new areas where Victorian technology and expertise could find markets. “Various cities are seeing money spent on building river fronts similar to South Bank/South Gate in Melbourne. Victorian technology in these fields, Victorian architecture can have a market in India if efforts are put in the right directions, in right places.”
Nitin said there is no shortage of ideas for Victoria’s Trade Engagement Program with India, only a need for sustained political attention. “So plenty of new opportunities to be explored. Plenty of policy ideas for TEPI (Victoria’s Trade Engagement Program with India),” he said.
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