Melbourne Council is set to spend a whopping $1.2 million to create a ‘Little India’ at Docklands in the hope it will become a ‘pioneering cultural precinct’ in the city centre.
The site was chosen after the city spent $150,000 on a scoping study to identify the site as part of efforts to put “Little India on the map.” Efforts have been ongoing since 2019, but the council struggled to find a location as Indian businesses in the city spread across several suburbs. Melbourne already has a Chinatown and Koreatown, and also has a small Indian cultural district next to Dandenong Railway Station in the city’s southeast.
Consequently, the creation of a personalized “Little India” was not welcomed by Australians online. One user took to X (formerly Twitter) to point out that if Australians moved to India, a ‘Little Australia’ would not be created for them and it would not be ‘tolerated’ either. “If we move to India, we will just have to get used to the Indian way of life. There will be no small Australia and it will not be tolerated either. I have no problem with Indians moving here, but they need to adapt to the Australian way of life and our values,” they wrote.
Another added: “This is why this beautiful country is collapsing. Food prices, now petrol, national parks being closed left and right, and nightlife have been shutting down to Australians for at least a decade. And yet here we are turning Australia into India with our tax money.” “If people miss their homeland, they can return home, and this applies to everyone who lives in other countries. Politicians should not use the tax money of the citizens of the home country to change them to countries and cities that already exist on the planet,” one user condemned. Many netizens in the comments called for either the integration of immigrants into the country or their deportation, without creating specific areas to accommodate them. “Australians don’t want a little India in our country. Why are Australians funding and building more cultural enclaves? We have spent millions if not billions funding only Indian community centres, temples, community projects, Indian festivals etc,” one person wrote while calling for mass deportation and re-migration “now”.
“
Councilor Philip Le Liu, City of Melbourne Portfolio Leader for Creative and Arts, revealed the council was “taking big steps to make Little India a reality”, and that it was part of a wider investment in culture and events. Under its $40 million budget, the council is scheduled to spend on projects, including:
- $26 million at major events such as Moomba, Melbourne Fashion Week and New Year’s Eve
- $2 million for the “Light Up Melbourne” project.
- $4.5 million on public art projects including the Stolen Generations Market
- $4.2 million for arts grants
- $2.6 million to upgrade sign posts
- $420,000 for new Christmas decorations in City Square
- $250,000 for new multicultural events
- $200,000 to revitalize the business district
The budget will be officially released on Tuesday according to Noticer.com and a public consultation on it will be held from March 31 to April 28. “We are working to upgrade our streets, enhance our cultural districts and create a brighter, safer and more vibrant city for everyone,” said Mayor Nick Rees.
