ello (@piers)

"More than 20,000 people have given a rapturous welcome to #NarendraModi at **Melbourne's Docklands Stadium**, with the Indian Prime Minister lauding his nation's achievements and Anthony **Albanese heaping praise on Australia's Indian diaspora**. "A packed crowd cheered uproariously and waved thousands of mobile phone lights above their heads as Mr Modi hit familiar themes during his speech, saying that India's technology sector and economy were booming. "*This is the India that grows more, achieves more. We are impatient, we are the fastest growing economy in the world*," he told the crowd. "*But we want to become one of the world's top three economies as soon as possible, because our inspiration is to grow more, achieve more*." "**It marked the third time that Mr Modi has visited Australia as Prime Minister**, which he said meant he had delivered a **"hat trick"**. "*This shows at what heights the relationship between India and Australia is now*," he said. "Mr Modi also drew a large roar when he celebrated India's precision strikes on what his government says were terrorist camps in **Pakistan**, in the wake of a deadly terrorist attacks launched by militants in Kashmir. Mr Modi declared that strike was an explosion that was **"heard around the world"**. "*Didn't you feel proud when India carried out such a decisive strike against terrorist camps?*" he asked. "**Both Anthony Albanese and Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan took the stage with Mr Modi**, although while Mr Albanese received a loud cheer, the crowd greeted the premier with half-hearted applause and **scattered boos**. But they warmed to the premier when **she declared that the state respected and welcomed Indians**, declaring India was **"not just a country that we trade with: it's a country that we trust"**. "The rally occurred against a backdrop of **rising anti-immigration sentiment**, with a small contingent of far right protesters trying to bait those attending the rally, holding a **protest against Indian immigration and Mr Modi outside the stadium**. "But Mr **Albanese has remained a staunch defender of multiculturalism**, and he used his speech to call the Indian Australian community the **"living bridge"** between the two countries. "*We are a better nation because we have you in it*," he said. "Security at the event was tight, with police dogs sniffing cars before they could enter, and a **large contingent of police** shadowing and, in some cases, separating protesters from Mr Modi's supporters. "A small group of **pro-Khalistan** protesters — who advocate for a separate sikh homeland in India — shouted abusive slogans against Mr Modi. "Waseem Razvi, chair of the Alliance Against Islamophobia, was also there with a group of protesters, said they wanted to raise public awareness of what they described as Mr **Modi's record on discrimination against muslims**. Mr Razvi said he was from the south of India in Hyderabad, and said he wanted to take a stand against hate. "*One was the human rights violation taking place in India and the other is the importing of the hate being imported here on Australian soil*," he said. "But the overwhelming majority of Indian Australians gathered at the stadium were there to heap praise on Mr Modi rather than criticise him [..]." Stephen Dziedzic, ABC #Melbourne https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-10/modi-addresses-thousands-in-melbourne/106899120