Violence against students on Australian visas won't be tolerated

October 28 2009 by Liam Clifford

Australia sends out a clear message that violence towards foreign students will not be tolerated.

Australia’s High Commissioner in India made a statement on Tuesday outlining the fact that racist violence against Indian students studying on Australian visas would not be tolerated.

The statement added that an Australian youth who was detained after an attack against an Indian student living in Australia, has been sentenced to four-and-a-half years, which demonstrated the country’s “zero tolerance” approach to violence against students.

The statement continued, “there is no place in the Australian society for racism or racist violence and the perpetrators of any such acts will face the full force of the law.”

The sentencing judge, Pamela Jenkins, also condemned the attacks.

The widespread condemnation and the long prison sentence reflects previous statements from the Australian government and the Australian immigration dept. insisting that living in Australia is safe for overseas students.

The overseas student industry contributes significantly to the Australian economy each year and it remains one of the most popular places to study for foreign students. Many young people, from countries like Indian, China, the UK and the US who choose to study in Australia, eventually immigrate to Australia or get graduate work in Australia once their course is over.