'Australia concerned over attacks on Indian students'

[Sidhu...Sidhaarth Roy]

Kochi, Dec 13: Australia was concerned over attacks on Indian students in the country and the government had taken serious steps to deal with the issue, Australian High Commissioner to India, Peter N Varghese said today.

"This is a serious bilateral issue. We are concerned over attacks on international students. They come as our guests. We have taken several steps at federal government level and state level," he told reporters here.

Educational institutions which gave misleading advertisements had been closed, increased policing efforts had been launched, especially in Melbourne, from where most of the incidents reported, he said.

"We have made some very large change in migration policies, not driven by the attacks on students but on broader issues," he said.

There was recognition on both sides that Australian government had taken serious steps to deal with the issue.

This has reflected in declining number of attacks, he said.