Among all the differences between Australia’s conservative and progressive parties, conservative parties too often have purposefully or unwittingly provided shelter for racists.

One of the first laws passed by the new Australian parliament in 1901 was the Immigration Restriction Act, which implemented the White Australia Policy. It enjoyed the support of all the major political parties for decades, until Liberal prime minister Harold Holt began dismantling it in practice.

His good work was followed by that of John Gorton and Billy McMahon. In 1973, Labor prime Minister gough Whitlam removed it from the statute books.

Yet from time to time, Coalition parliamentarians have sought political advantage in reviving race-based politics.

Most recently, Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price – who contested the deputy leadership of the Liberal Party only a couple of months ago – claimed the Albanese government had favoured Indian migrants because they tended to vote Labor.

Despite retracting these comments under pressure from within her own party, Price has refused to apologise for them.

To their great credit, Liberal leader Sussan Ley and Senator Dave Sharma repudiated Price’s comments. Indeed, there is no suggestion that Ley is racist. On the contrary, she seems a very decent person.

Whatever Price’s motivations in singling out Indian nationals in Australia’s immigration program, she has succeeded only in infuriating the Indian community.

Behind India, our........

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