‘They can go home’: Australians condemn Melbourne’s $1.2 million investment in ‘Little India’ | World News

The Melbourne City Council will spend A$1.2 million to build “Little India” in the Docklands, hoping it will become a “leading cultural district” in the city centre. The site was chosen after the city spent $150,000 on a scoping study to identify a site as part of an effort to put “Little India” on the map. The efforts have been underway since 2019, but with the city’s Indian businesses spread across several suburbs, the council has struggled to find sites. Melbourne already has Chinatown and Koreatown, as well as a Little India cultural precinct next to Dandenong train station in the southeast of the city. Therefore, the establishment of Little India was not welcomed by Australian netizens. One user noted on X (formerly Twitter) that if Australians moved to India, there would be no “little Australia” created for them and they would not be “tolerated”. “If we move to India, we have to get used to the Indian way of life. Australia is not small and this cannot be tolerated. I have no problem with Indians moving here, but they need to accept the Australian way of life and our values,” they wrote. Another added: “This is why this beautiful country is falling apart. Food prices are up, now petrol prices are up, national parks are closing left and right, Australians have been deprived of nightlife for at least a decade. Yet here we are using our tax dollars to turn Australia into India.” “If people miss their home country, they can go home, and this applies to everyone living in other countries. Politicians should not use taxes from citizens of their country of origin to change it~countries and cities that already exist on Earth,” one user denounced. Many netizens called in the comments for immigrants to either be integrated into the country or deported, but no dedicated areas were set up to accommodate them. “Australians don’t want a Little India for our country. Why should Australians fund and build more cultural enclaves? We already spend millions if not billions funding Indian-only community centres, temples, community projects, Indian festivals and more,” one person wrote, while calling for “mass deportations and re-immigration now”.“Councilor Philip Le Liu, City of Melbourne’s creative and arts portfolio leader, revealed the council was “taking significant steps to make Little India a reality” as part of a wider investment in culture and events. With a budget of $40 million, the committee will be used for projects including:

The budget will be officially released on Tuesday, with public consultations taking place from March 31 to April 28, Noticer.com reported. “We’re improving our streets, strengthening our cultural districts and creating a city that feels brighter, safer and more vibrant for everyone,” said Mayor Nick Reese.