In this episode we speak with Nav Singh who is a member of the Indian community on the southside of Brisbane and on the senate ticket for the Greens. He immigrated to Australia 15 years ago. Nav discusses with Tim and Andrea the demoralization of the Indian community during the Covid period that occurred when the Prime Minister decided to initiate a 5 year jail term for the Australian citizens traveling from India, if they tried to enter the country when the Australian borders were shut. This is something that had never happened before in history. These Australian citizens were essentially left stateless.
Nav described to us the immigration program which was initially thought of as an act of goodwill from the Australian government but actually the Indian community has been needed by Australia to help drive the Australian economy because we’ve needed workers.
Nav said it costs around eight to $10,000 per person for someone to come into the country but then he also discussed once they get here how difficult it is to have left your family behind. It can then cost around $120,000 for you to bring both your parents over or you have to wait around 30 years for a humanitarian visa. The reason for the high costs and the long wait is because of the fact that the elderly are of no economic benefit to Australia meaning that they will not be working and will be seen as a burden to Australia. The 30 year wait is because of the backlog of humanitarian visas that are available.
The other problems that Nav discussed are the actual employment that is available to the Indian community once they arrive, the fact that when they get here the main concern with employers is the English competency rather than the ability for the worker to do the job, even though they are contributing and paying taxes which is what they are here to do. Nav says working here in Australia is very difficult for members of the Indian community not only emotionally but for their mental health as well due to the casualization of the workforce but also because they are working in much lower positions than what they are qualified to do.
They also tested for their English competency every two years when they have come from overseas and are deported if they’re found to be not competent in English, which is a discriminatory practice considering many other adults would not pass the same English test.
As well as this, there is an undertone of racism in the community towards the Indian community and they are not respected for their high levels of competency in their roles back in India, for their qualifications, their knowledge, their experience and for the treatment that they’re having to endure for the time that they’re here, as well as the emotional ordeal of being separated from their families. No matter how long they have lived here, they are still treated as “other”.
The Prime Minister’s response to this failure towards the Indian community during Covid was to highlight his ability to provide his family with curry on a Saturday night. However as Nav points out, the Indian community is able to make their own curry. What they would prefer is for the Prime Minister to actually help them.
Nav’s 3 Big Ideas:
- Stop the casualization of the workforce
- Tax the billionaires and redistribute that wealth
- Sustainability of our water supply because water is essential and is being treated as a commodity
Beyond the Rona Podcast is recorded in Logan, Queensland on Yuggera country. We acknowledge the traditional owners past and present.
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