Inflation Still the Main Concern for Australia’s Fastest Growing Migrant Community

The Epoch Times spoke with several members of the community to hear their thoughts.

Sydneysiders celebrate Diwali at a street festival in the suburb of Wentworthville in Sydney, Australia on Oct. 29, 2022. Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

Indian-Australian voters say cost of living was the main priority during the recent federal election, and will be something they hope the new government can deal with.

The Indian community is predicted to overtake the United Kingdom as the biggest migrant group in the country, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) estimating 916,330 Indian-born residents locally.

This population swell has led politicians from across the spectrum to actively court this diaspora, including Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s pledge for a Hindi School in Sydney.

Despite the high-profile outreach, day-to-day concerns weighed more heavily for Indian-Australian voters than cultural symbolism.

Priyanka Athalye, a 41-year-old IT consultant and mother of three from Vermont South in Melbourne, said her vote was shaped by rising expenses and worries about the future.

“Cost of living was the key issue on my mind when I stepped out to vote last week,” Athalye told The Epoch Times.

Resident of South Vermont in Melbourne voted on cost of living crisis. Courtesy of Priyanka Athalye

“Educational opportunities for our children when they grow up, in terms of university education ... and also, when they grow up, how will the property prices be, right? So it basically boils down to what the future opportunities hold in Australia.”

In Sydney, Anita Kumari, a housewife from Girraween, west of Parramatta, echoed similar concerns.

With two school-age daughters, her vote was driven by the cost-of-living crisis.

“Lately, living in Sydney has become very expensive. We have voted for a government that can promise us some relief,” she said.

Canberra resident Gaurav Arora, 42, said mortgage repayments were his biggest burden.

A resident of Bruce since 2018, he bought a home just before the pandemic, only to be hit by surging interest rates.

“My only hope is that I get a government that can make sure its policies lead to the Reserve Bank slashing interest rates further,” he said.

Javed Ali, 32, a financial consultant from Box Hill, also in Melbourne’s east, who works remotely, said economic concerns and high utility costs were top of mind.

“I have voted for a government that can give an uplift to our economy, which has taken a hit since COVID freebies started to flow in,” he said.

Another Melbourne Resident who voted for a better economy. Courtesy of Javed Ali