Jacinta Nampijinpa Price: The ‘special guest’ drawing numbers for Curtin Liberal fundraiser

Jacinta Nampijinpa Price will appear at two WA Liberal Party events as pressure intensifies on the Senator over the damage she’s caused the party’s standing with the Indian Australian community. The shadow Defence industry and personnel minister is billed as a “special guest” at the Curtin Women’s Committee’s annual spring breakfast on Wednesday, and will also join a panel discussion at the party’s headquarters about “reclaiming Liberal values”. The Liberals lost the blue-ribbon seat of Curtin to independent Kate Chaney in 2022. Senator Price is a big drawcard for the Liberal Party base in WA. It’s understood her inclusion on the bill for the breakfast has drawn more than 100 people to the three-hour fundraiser. But she has faced calls from colleagues to apologise for comments she made on television a week ago claiming the Government had allowed high levels of Indian migrants because they were “more Labor leaning”. Indian Australian community members have made it clear to Opposition Leader Sussan Ley they were hurt by the remarks. “I know that the Senator is listening to the Indian community and hearing their words directly in many instances, and I think that’s important because where feelings are hurt, there needs to be a two-way dialogue and there needs to be an understanding,” Ms Ley said on Tuesday. Frontbench colleague Julian Leeser apologised for Senator Price’s comments during a speech to a Hindi school in his outer-Sydney electorate over the weekend. “My colleague Jacinta Price said something this week that I want to apologise unreservedly for,” he said, to applause. “I don’t care how you vote. I care about the contribution that you make to this country – and I know it is a fantastic contribution and I want you to keep making it.” NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman also apologised to the community on Tuesday, days after backing Senator Price’s role at a party fundraiser in his State. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese sent a strong message to the Indian Australian community that they had “made our nation stronger” and called on Senator Price to apologise. Internal tensions bubbling around Ms Ley’s leadership are underpinning the dispute; Senator Price defected from the Nationals to join Angus Taylor’s ticket after the May election. Senior WA Liberal Michaelia Cash and shadow Home Affairs minister Andrew Hastie – who both also backed Mr Taylor’s leadership – are advertised to appear with Senator Price at the events on Wednesday. Policy committee chairman and former WA No campaign director Sherry Sufi is involved in the Liberal values session. He quit as the Liberal Fremantle candidate in 2016 after past controversial comments emerged, but ran again for the party in the Senate in 2022.