Call for Oz states to be rated for fight against racism following violent attacks on Indians

Sydney, July 17(ANI): According to a report put forward by Australia India Institute, every state should be rated for the support they give to foreign students to head off crises like the torrent of violent attacks on Indian students, programs to orient the students to life in Australia, liaison by police forces, and involvement of local ethnic communities as contact and support points.

The report also said exposure of colleges with poor quality in 2009 had damaged Australia's national 'brand' and cost us billions of dollars in lost export earnings.

The 2009 foreign student crisis branded Australia across Asia, which is second emerging super-economy, as a racist nation, and as a consequence Indian students here fell from the then peak of 120,000 to 37,453 in March this year.

This represents "a massive exodus and no-confidence vote," says a report by the Australia India Institute, which is a federal government-funded body at Melbourne University, and is set to be released.

"Using the same financial benchmarks that defined the program's success, the crisis has cost Australia billions of dollars and thousands of jobs in associated industries," The Age quoted the report, as saying.

While Australia's image in the Indian public opinion polls has gained back since, but the relationship remains brittle and needs work to build understanding between the two countries to overcome stereotypes and prevent blow-ups.

The Indian side sees little knowledge of Australia's multiculturalism and its fast-growing Indian ethnic community, and a 'stubborn institutional memory' in New Delhi's Ministry of External Affairs. (ANI)