Victorian Opposition figures have intensified criticism of government-funded multicultural events, raising concerns about their use during an election year, as calls grow for clearer policy alternatives and stronger engagement with Indian-Australian communities.
Former ministerial adviser Nitin Gupta said the issue of speaking roles and invitations at such events needed to be considered alongside past practice and future policy clarity.
“Between 2011 to 2014, when I was working for the Liberal party led Victorian government as Ministerial Adviser for Multicultural Affairs, as far as I can recall – there were plenty of government events where the Opposition leader though attending the event, was not invited to deliver a speech,” he said.
He added, “There were quite few events where no invitations were sent to the opposition benches at all.”
“And plenty of events where then Shadow Parliamentary Secretary though was invited to the event, but was not asked to deliver any speech. These included the events organised in that election year 2014 as well.”
Nitin said while the current opposition had raised concerns about taxpayer-funded multicultural events, broader policy detail was required.
“While I do understand the current Opposition now raising the issue of state government funded multicultural events in the election year,” he said.
“They need to present their detailed budgeted alternative plan with clear answers, for the issue to appeal more broadly to the community.”
“There were plenty of government events where the Opposition leader though attending the event, was not invited to deliver a speech”
He outlined several questions facing the opposition, including whether events would continue at their current scale, how invitations would be allocated, and what processes would determine speaking roles for government and opposition representatives.
“The current Victorian opposition needs to provide their detailed budgeted alternative plans on how they would be holding such multicultural events”
“Without more details and clarity, the issue would not resonate much with the voters.”
Nitin also pointed to the recent preselection dispute in Melbourne’s western suburbs as a factor affecting Liberal Party membership among Indian-Australians.
“My understanding would be that the Liberal party has to provide them enough reasons to continue/renew as paid Liberal members,” he said.
“The whole preselection episode in west could have been handled slightly better perhaps.”
He said issues that later emerged publicly should have been identified earlier during candidate vetting.
“The things that ended up later in the media, ideally should have been picked up much earlier in the preselection candidate vetting process,” he said.
Nitin said the second round of preselection did not provide sufficient opportunity for new candidates.
“When the second round of preselection was called – Not enough time and opportunity was provided to other potential candidates to put in their applications correctly,” he said.
“It can appear that the second round was more a formality, rather than a genuine chance for new candidates to be a part of the process.”
He also questioned communication between party leadership and local members in the west.
“What efforts were made by the Victorian Liberal leadership to communicate with disgruntled members of the branches in the west?” he said.
“Or they were simply taken for granted. A bit of timely communication from the top could have gone a long way perhaps in retaining those members.”
“The current Victorian opposition needs to provide their detailed budgeted alternative plans on how they would be holding such multicultural events”
Nitin said the absence of Indian-Australian candidates in winnable seats could affect future participation.
“Now there are no Australian Indians on any winnable seats from the Liberal ticket for 2026 Victorian elections,” he said.
“With the amount of online trolling and scrutiny going around, this time it’s going to be really difficult to get people to contest on loosing seats.”
He added that policy engagement remained limited.
“There have been no detailed alternative budgeted multicultural policy announcements yet by the Victorian Liberals,” he said.
“There is no new innovative Australian Indian specific policy announced yet.”
“They are yet to come out with their alternate budgeted version of Australia India strategy or TEPI. They are yet to be seen engaging much with known business groups or leaders/forums.”
“The current Victorian opposition leader is yet to organize a Multicultural Media Conference. Their engagement with Australian Indian media is minimal.”
Nitin said membership levels would depend on whether the party could rebuild trust.
“So what exactly are the reasons for those people to continue renewing or being part of Liberal party membership?” he said.
“If and when the Victorian Liberal party can provide enough reasons – Australian Indian member numbers and renewals should go up again in the Liberal branches of Western Suburbs.”
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