TNN

Canberra, Jun 24: Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said here on Wednesday that an assault against any international student was "one assault too many'' and that the Australian government has taken it (the attacks on Indian students) very seriously.

Speaking to an India media delegation, Rudd said that the Australian government was "sensitive to the well being of every international student'' and that it would do everything possible to maximize security. However, he pointed out that if the international comparative criminal data was looked into, Australia would still be the safest country in the world, safer than the UK, France, Italy, and the US.

"In relative terms, Indians and international students are safer here than in most other countries,'' Rudd said, soon after he came out after an extended question time session in the parliament. He said that homicide rates in Australia were lower than in other countries.

While he said that "we will work our way through this with many friends in the Indian community'', he also pointed out that Australians too have been attacked in the past, 20 times in India alone, where they were "murdered, assaulted or sexually assaulted'' over the last decade.

"We have a million Australians travelling at any time,'' he said. Referring to his recent conversations with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Rudd said that attacks on Australians (in India) do not mean that "we blame the Indian people or the government''. "These are things which regrettably happen,'' he said, further adding that he as prime minister holds the responsibility to ensure the well being of all international students.

Describing Australia as a multicultural, multiracial country, Rudd said that the Indian community was a vital contributor to the country's culture, food and music and that the two countries shared, apart from their love for cricket and Bollywood, also a deep affection. "In any relationship, there are bound to be problems. Let's not take this out of context,'' he said.

Meanwhile, key officials of the department of foreign affairs and trade, education and immigration on Wednesday made statements that the problem of Indian students being attacked was being viewed seriously by the government and that all steps were being taken to ensure their safety, including the setting up of a task force and an "anonymous'' hotline where students could file their complaints, even without revealing their identities. A high-profile delegation would also be sent to India next month to address concerns regarding education in Australia. Officials said that these attacks were more "opportunistic than racist''.

Putting this whole damage-control exercise in perspective, immigration minister Chris Evans said that India was a huge supplier of temporary and permanent immigrants. He said that Indians were largely driving the IT and healthcare sectors of Australia. "They are welcome in Australia and Australia is not racist,'' he said.

There are 96,000 Indian students in Australia, a number that has shot over the last few years.