INTRODUCTION: INSECURITY IN THE MARKETPLACE

Though the sanitised report of the Victorian taskforce on international students largely sidestepped the safety issue (chapter 9), six months after its publication the state government had still not responded. Politicians and police still denied racism was an issue. But it was too late. Either the bashings of south Asian students were more frequent or reported more often, which, in policy terms, was the same. By late May 2009 each attack was front page news in Australia, India and around the world.

On Saturday, 23 May 2009, at a party in Melbourne's north four Indian students were attacked with a screwdriver by gatecrashers shouting racist epithets. One student was treated in intensive care. A witness to the assault said, ‘We are not safe in this country. They are taking so many fees and taxes from international students, but they are not protecting us'.On 25 May another Indian student was stabbed while walking home. The Chief executive of Universities Australia, which represents the vice-chancellors, said, ‘We are certainly worried about the impression this may create among potential students and their parents’. Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said, ‘Australia takes very seriously its reputation as a safe destination for Indian Students’.