Victoria premier continues visit aimed at calming student fears

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• published: 23 Jul 2015
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1. Wide of John Brumby, Premier of state of Victoria, shaking hands with Indian business leaders 2. Wide pan left from audience to wide of stage 3. Mid of Jacinta Allan, Minister for Skills and Training for the state of Victoria 4. Mid of Brumby speaking at podium, holding up "Thinking Global" report announcing new scholarship exchange programme 5. Mid of audience clapping 6. SOUNDBITE: (English) John Brumby, Premier of Victoria State: "We've had a very small number of crimes which have been racially based, and where there is any crime that's racially based, it is met with the full force of the law, and I have given an undertaking today to ministers, during my speech here today, to keep the public of India better informed, that I will be providing more advice on each incident and the follow up which has occurred. I believe that the concrete action that we've taken as a government: more police; stronger police powers; tougher sentencing laws; the International Education Line; the 24/7 line - I believe that the concrete action that we have taken is producing results." 7. Wide of news conference 8. SOUNDBITE: (English) John Brumby, Premier of Victoria State: "It's the friendship that we've got, the underlying strength of that relationship is very, very strong and so well set that I don't believe that has changed or will change. I believe though there's been some damage to the image of Australia and the image of our state which is obviously regrettable. I'd obviously prefer that every visitor to our state was able to visit with absolute safety and security, but unfortunately I can't guarantee that, we are a big city with millions of people and crime sometimes does occur, but again I would just ask that these things are put in perspective." 9. Wide of audience with cameraman in background STORYLINE: The Premier of the Australian state of Victoria, John Brumby, assured the Indian government on Friday that he would keep them informed about follow up action taken against those involved in the recent attacks on ethnic Indian students in Australia. Speaking to business leaders in New Delhi, Brumby said that any racially-motivated attacks would be met "with the full force of the law." India has conveyed its growing concern to Australia over the attacks, asking the Australian government to take steps to improve the safety of their citizens. Brumby's visit to New Delhi was aimed at addressing those concerns and to promote Victoria as a safe destination for students seeking to study abroad. During Friday's meeting, the Victorian State Premier said new measures taken, including an increase in police numbers, stronger police powers and tougher sentencing laws, was producing results to ensure the students' safety. According to Victoria police, 1,447 people of Indian origin were victims of crimes such as robberies and assaults last year, up from 1,082 in the previous year. Police argue that while some of the attacks may be racially motivated, it was more likely linked to a broader rise in street violence. Brumby admitted that the attacks had caused "some damage to the image of Australia and the image of our state," but reiterated his belief that this had not affected "very strong" bilateral relations between the two countries. Brumby also announced a new exchange scholarship programme for Indian students worth 10-thousand Australian dollars (8,659 US dollars). State-owned Australian universities make an estimated two (b) billion Australian dollars (1.6 (b) billion US dollars) from Indian students a year. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/129557ce96fd789c00262d7ae5aacbc5 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork