WA Liberal leader Basil Zempilas has sought to mend ties with the state’s Indian community following controversial comments made by federal colleague Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, who is scheduled to speak at a Liberal Party event in Perth tonight.

In a letter to Indian Society of WA president Deepak Sharma, Zempilas expressed regret that members of the community had been hurt, describing recent public commentary as “unhelpful” and “not representative” of Western Australia’s values.

“As … a product of Western Australia’s proud migrant history, I feel compelled to address some of the public commentary regarding Australia’s immigration policies and our migrant community, particularly the Indian community,” Zempilas wrote.

“Free speech and the right to protest are important tenets of Australia’s democracy. However, some of what we have seen and heard over recent weeks has been unhelpful. That’s not the Australian way, and it’s not representative of the value of this state’s cultural diversity.”

He went on to praise the Indian community as playing a “pivotal role” in WA society, pledging to work with community leaders “in the spirit of inclusion and cohesion, which has served Western Australia so well over our proud history.”

Fallout from comments

Senator Nampijinpa Price was dumped from the federal Liberal frontbench this week by Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, who cited both her lack of support for her leadership and her “hurtful” remarks about Indian migrants.

Last week, the senator alleged the federal government was “bringing in large numbers of Indian migrants because they vote for the Labor Party.”

Despite the controversy, she is still slated to address a Liberal Party event tonight at the Indian Society’s community centre in the Perth suburb of Willetton, alongside outspoken state MP Nick Goiran. A website promoting the event describes the pair as “two MPs who are never afraid to say what needs to be said.”

Organisers confirmed the event would proceed, with WA Liberal MLC Michelle Hofmann telling the ABC that 500 tickets had been sold.

Mixed reactions

The Indian Society of WA has distanced itself from the event, noting it had simply been booked through an online portal. Vice-president Divya Sharma welcomed Zempilas’s intervention, saying:

“We do appreciate his commitment to supporting our Indian community and to the cultural diversity in this state. Pigeon-holing any community is not helpful.”

But WA Premier Roger Cook described the event as “deeply, deeply offensive,” while his deputy Rita Saffioti called it “an absolute disgrace and an insult to the Indian community.”

Community advocate Suresh Rajan said the Liberal Party faced an uphill battle to regain the trust of Indian-Australians.

“I would be inclined to think that the party will need to do a lot more work and continue to support and to encourage the Indian community before they will regain the trust that’s been so badly damaged on this occasion,” he said.

Rajan also urged Senator Nampijinpa Price to apologise and deepen her understanding of the Indian community.

“If she wants to be taken seriously, then she should really be engaging with the community before she goes out and makes comments of this nature.”