Why the ‘Princess Di of the right’ spells disaster at the ballot box

Firebrand senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price is the Princess Diana of the right. Or at least that is how she was described as it emerged that the outspoken MAGA cap-wearing senator from the Northern Territory would still be headlining a NSW Liberal fundraiser just two days after she insulted the Australian Indian community.

For Willoughby MP Tim James, securing Price as the guest for his fundraiser was a win, and he was not inclined to cancel her appearance last Friday evening despite the controversy she brought with her. Price is the darling of the right, a recruit who was lured to the Liberals with leadership promises.

She has star quality that no one else in the party can match at a time when convincing donors to contribute to a hopeless cause is no mean feat. Price draws Liberal crowds, and James’ fundraiser was no different, attracting some 200 guests.

“To the right wing, she is Princess Diana,” a Liberal operative told me, “a beloved figure who is worshipped in ways those who have not joined the cult or have mainstream values can understand.”

But the right’s love affair with Price poses a conundrum. Is pandering to the Liberals’ membership base, many of whom are convinced Price is the answer to their woes, worth the brand damage? As the saga over Price’s comments – where she claimed Labor was deliberately courting Indian migrants so they would vote for them – drags on, the answer to that is clear.

The Liberals, including those in Macquarie Street, have spent close to a week mopping up after Price’s remarks. She swiftly corrected her comments but has not offered an apology, which has meant others have had to do that for her, including NSW Liberal Leader Mark Speakman. He joined federal leader Sussan Ley in Harris Park on Sunday as they wandered through the heart of Sydney’s Indian community to send the message that the Liberals are on their side.

Also with Speakman was his deputy leader, Natalie Ward (who attended James’ fundraiser as she does for many MPs), as well as the opposition’s spokesman for multiculturalism, Mark Coure, who was the first state Liberal to denounce Price’s comments. Then, on Tuesday, the NSW Coalition hosted Indian community leaders in parliament, where Speakman issued an apology for “the deep hurt many Indian-Australians feel after a federal senator’s offensive comments last week”.

But is any of this enough to smooth the waters with the Indian community?

One deflated senior NSW Liberal Party source thinks not, quipping: “Will we have to go to Harris Park once a month now?” Another lamented that they did not join the Liberal Party thinking they would need to convince voters they are not racist.

Politically, the NSW Liberals cannot risk alienating the Indian diaspora. At the 2023 election, the party lost two seats with a high Indian population: Parramatta and Riverstone. They barely held on to another (Winston Hills).

The highest concentration of Indian Australians – those born in India or with at least one Indian parent – sits in the clutch of seats stretching from north-west Sydney, west and down to south-west Sydney. This is the very area of Sydney that the Liberals must claim back if they have any hope of returning to government.

The NSW Liberals are 18 months from the next state election but only days from a byelection. The voters of Kiama will go to the polls on Saturday, and if betting markets are accurate, the Liberals will not only lose – they will be decimated.

Arguably this is out of the state party’s hands, nor is it the fault of Speakman. The Liberal candidate, Serena Copley, has the ghost of Gareth Ward to contend with. Ward, the wildly popular former MP, was forced to quit parliament after he was convicted of sexual assault offences. But in Kiama, not all voters are convinced that justice was served, and there is some sympathy for Ward.

Then there is the Liberal brand damage. The hangover from the federal election loss has not eased, and as the party tears itself apart over policies, voters are constantly reminded that the Liberals have not just lost their way but also their purpose. Price’s Indian migrant comments, and the bitter division they have caused across the party, serves as the perfect reminder of this. Despite Price’s demotion late last night by Ley, the Liberals are drifting further away from a party of government by the day.

The NSW Liberals, too, will almost certainly be one seat further away from returning to power after Saturday, when Labor candidate Katelin McInerney, the favourite in Kiama, bucks the trend of byelections being disastrous for incumbent governments.

Speakman should not pay the price for a loss, but he will. It is likely that his leadership will be dealt a terminal blow. Neither will Price’s disparaging remarks about the Indian community be directly to blame, but her comments and the ensuing controversy raise an existential question for the party. What is worth more? A celebrity MP with the pulling power of a beloved princess, or success at the ballot box?

Alexandra Smith is the NSW state political editor.

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