Australian Treasurer accused of racism towards Hindus

Canberra, March 2 Australia’s Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has been accused of making “brazen” and “offensive” comments about Hinduism and other Indian religions in Parliament, according to media reports.

Last week, Liberal Party leader Frydenberg made repeated references to the Hinduism and other Indian religions while criticising the Opposition Labor Party’s idea of potentially pursuing a New Zealand-style “wellbeing budget”, 9News reported on Sunday.

“They (Labor) are inspired by their spiritual leader, the member for Rankin (Opposition treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers),” Frydenberg was quoted as saying by the report.

“I was thinking yesterday, as the member for Rankin was coming into the chamber fresh from his Ashram deep in the mountains of the Himalayas barefoot in the chamber, robes flowing, incense burning, beads in one hand, wellbeing budget in the other, I thought to myself: ‘What yoga position the member for Rankin would assume … to deliver the first wellbeing budget?”

The Hindu Council of Australia on Saturday night described the treasurer’s comments as “brazen, racist and Hindu-phobic”, the report said.

“The comments made by Frydenberg are derisive and very offensive to the Hindu community,” the council said in a statement posted on Facebook.

The council called on Frydenberg to re-think the statements he made and urged the Liberal Party to consider where it stands on the comments.

The Universal Society of Hinduism urged Prime Minister Scott Morrison to censure the treasurer.

However, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann defended Frydenberg by sharing statements on Twitter from other groups, including the Confederation of Indian Australian Association and the Federation of Indian Associations Victoria, both of which said “no apology” was needed, Australian Associated Press reported.

Cormann, addressing Labor, said Frydenberg “appropriately used humour to make a serious point”.

“The joke is on you @KKeneally & @JEChalmers. @JoshFrydenberg appropriately used humour to make a serious point. Labor can’t hide its economically harmful high taxing, high spending, anti-business agenda behind its silly wellbeing budget diversion,” Cormann tweeted.

Labor frontbencher Kristina Keneally said she doesn’t think Frydenberg is a racist or a bad person, but that he “exhibited bad judgment”.

“What I would encourage from Frydenberg today is to read and reflect on the call from the Hindu Council of Australia to consider his actions and fix this mess he has created,” she told reporters in Sydney on Sunday.

“I would expect Frydenberg to do the right thing.”

Labor MP Michelle Rowland also slammed Frydenberg for his statements deemed by many Australian Hindus as offensive.
“Hindu Australians deserve our respect – not cheap jokes on the floor of the House of Representatives,” Rowland tweeted.

On Monday, in the House of Representatives, Rowland said she would not let the “offensive” comments “go unchecked”.

“As a regular feature as my role as the member for Greenway, I spend time with several hundred Australians of Hindu faith every week,” she said.