“I’ve heard from her and I believe her. She didn’t mean these comments, she wasn’t being racist, but it came out that way.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
<\/p>\n
Alex Hawke, flanked by, Sussan Ley, says he encouraged Jacinta Nampijinpa Price to apologise. (AAP: Mick Tsikas)<\/p>\n
The fact Senator Nampijinpa Price made the comments just days after anti-immigration rallies across the country \u2014 some specifically targeting Indian Australians \u2014 made it a “particularly bad week”, according to Mr Hawke.<\/p>\n
Senator Nampijinpa Price has sought to clarify her remarks and insists she did not intend to “disparage” the Indian Australian community, but she is resisting calls from her colleagues to say sorry.<\/p>\n
Yesterday, she further fuelled internal tensions when she wrote a fiery post on social media, accusing Mr Hawke of “berating” one of her staff members and engaging in “cowardly and inappropriate conduct”.<\/p>\n
“If people want to talk about the so-called ‘woman problem’ in the Liberal Party it’s this: we don’t stand up for women when they’re mistreated by their own colleagues,” Senator Nampijinpa Price wrote.<\/p>\n
Mr Hawke has rejected that accusation, saying “I can’t understand how this is a gendered issue” and insists he had nothing more than a “1 or 2-minute” phone call with one of Senator Nampijinpa Price’s staffers, in which he offered to help clean up her comments.<\/p>\n
Nampijinpa Price calls for apology from Hawke<\/p>\n
Senator Nampijinpa Price revealed on Monday she has asked Opposition Leader Sussan Ley to request an apology from Mr Hawke.<\/p>\n
“I have asked our leader if she would ask Alex Hawke to apologise to me for his conduct,” Senator Nampijinpa Price told Sky News.<\/p>\n
“I’m a Liberal woman and Liberal women need to be able to feel like they’re being supported wholeheartedly.”<\/p>\n
She also said she was surprised to have heard from Mr Hawke rather than Ms Ley following the comments.<\/p>\n
“I guess I would expect that I would hear directly from the leader herself if it was of huge concern,” she said.<\/p>\n
The ongoing drama is creating a major headache for Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, who has moved into damage control with the Indian Australian community, holding round tables and taking a very public tour through Little India on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Ms Ley has also declined to apologise for Senator Nampijinpa Price’s remarks<\/a> but has called them “wrong” and insists they will not be repeated.<\/p>\n