Dr Kunal Kalra is a young professional living in Sydney. We asked him about the main issues that matter to him in the upcoming Federal elections on 3rd May. Like many other Australians his No 1 issue is cost of living.
“The issues with the elections have been tied to politicians making promises that ultimately turn out to be false hopes. They committed to improving financial conditions, but those promises haven’t actioned. For example, my mortgage payments have skyrocketed by $2500 to $3000 more than we anticipated, which is putting a strain on us financially. Meanwhile, salaries have stayed stagnant, but living expenses—like groceries, food, and even basic necessities like fruits—have doubled.”
“What used to cost us $35 for a meal for two in 2023/2024 now costs $70-80 in 2024/2025. It’s not just food—every expense has doubled, including insurance, medical costs, clothing, transport, and fuel. Our electricity and gas bills have gone up. Fuel prices have risen. At the end of the day, it feels like these election promises happen only at the time of elections and aren’t actioned later,” says Kunal.
Cost of Living is also a big issue for Melbourne based Shruthi Mathur who says “from food to electricity basic cost of living has gone up and one has felt the impact of these rising expenses.”
Himanshu Pota has been living in Canberra for many years. He says,
“I look for a party that can initiate a program to educate Australians about the reality of having to share their country with migrants and to educate migrants on how to integrate with the Australian ethos and respect the people who built this nation.”
According to the last census in 2021 by Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) , Australians with Indian Ancestry stood at 783,958 approximately 3.1% of the population while India-born population was 673,352.
There are several Federal seats where Australians of Indian origin could make a difference in the outcome. Seats such as Greenway (17.2 % Indian ancestry, 16% born in India), Parramatta, home to Australia’s ‘Little India’ (15.4 % Indian ancestry, 16.5% born in India) and Mitchell (9.4% Indian ancestry, 6.9% born in India) in NSW, and Lalor (16.1% Indian ancestry, 16.5% born in India), Gellibrand (11.2% Indian ancestry, 10.5% born in India) and Holt (10.6% Indian ancestry, 10.6% born in India) in Victoria.
On 3rd May Australians will vote for all 150 seats for the House of Representatives. Elections will also be held for 40 Senate seats (out of 76 seats). Voting is compulsory for all adult Australian citizens.
There are around 45 Indian origin candidates in the fray this time contesting for the House of Representatives and the Senate.
From Labor you have Zaneta Mascarenhas from Swan who is also the sitting MP and Nildhara Gadani from Goldstein for the Lower house and Senator Varun Ghosh who was appointed to the Senate from Western Australia in Feb 2024 for the Upper House.
From the Liberals you have Rattan Virk (Greenway), Vivek Singha (Fowler), Mira D’Silva (Lalor), Satish Patel (Fraser), Leon Rebello (McPherson), and Rohit Taggar (Scullin) for House of Representatives while Jacob Vadakkedathu is the lead ACT Liberal Senate candidate.
Besides the two primary parties, Indian origin candidates are also contesting from other parties like the Greens, One Nation, Animal Justice Party, Family First, Libertarian Party and Trumpet of Patriots, and several standing as Independents.
Purnendra Jain is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of Adelaide. He says that political parties increasingly reach out to Indian Australians as the Indian-background diaspora is rising, and with that, their significance and importance in politics.
“The number of India-born people in Australia has almost doubled in a decade. Political leaders from both major parties engage the Indian community by attending religious celebrations, cultural events and other community functions. The purpose is to woo voters to their political parties.”
“All these signify the importance of India and the Indian community in Australia. Migration from India in large numbers has happened recently, and it will take time for the Indian-origin population to stamp their mark on politics like they have done in the UK, US and Canada, but the time is not far off when Indian origin politicians will take up ministerial roles in Federal Parliament. Some state governments have already appointed senior ministers from Indian background,” added Prof Jain.
According to Dr Amit Sarwal, well-known academic and leading expert on the Indian diaspora and cross-cultural relations,
“The growing presence of the Indian diaspora, not only in terms of numbers but also through increased civic participation and political candidacy, underscores their deepening roots and vital contribution to Australia’s multiculturalism and democracy.”
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