Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan slams foreign student gang threat

A string of violent bashings and knifepoint robberies on international students at Melbourne universities has been condemned by Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan, who has vowed to tackle the issue.

The attacks are taking place near Monash University’s Clayton campus.

The safety of foreign students at Australian universities will be made an urgent national priority following a string of vicious attacks in Melbourne.

Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan will elevate the issue by asking his department to work with the nation’s top institutions to better ensure student safety.

The Herald Sun on Monday revealed cowardly groups of thieves were terrorising vulnerable students.

Victoria Police has received reports of 13 bashings and knifepoint robberies over 18 days across Melbourne ­universities.

Mr Tehan condemned the targeting of international students by criminals, saying the students were welcome in ­Australia and should be safe on campus and in the wider community.

Minister for Education Dan Tehan. Picture: George Salpigtidis

“Our government wants to ensure all students who come to Australia are living in a safe, supportive environment,” Mr Tehan told the Herald Sun. ­“Violence against international students is a high priority for all levels of government and law enforcement.”

A record 690,000 international students studied in Australia in 2018, with 380,000 of them enrolled in the nation’s 40 universities.

Mr Tehan this year instructed the department to consult with the sector to better address mental health ­issues among international students, following a coronial inquest into a number of suicides among overseas students.

He said the national consultation would now be expanded to look at ways to better ensure the physical safety of students following a wave of attacks.

Australia is on course to pass Britain to become the world’s second most popular destination for international students, bringing in $34 billion in export revenue.

Mr Tehan said Australia was known “around the world” as a safe and secure study destination, with 95 per cent of international students rating their personal safety as one of the reasons they had chosen to study in Australia.

A poster warns of violence at Monash University’s Clayton campus.

Monash University students, many of them from China, were among those being terrorised by thieves who typically zeroed in on the victims when they were alone.

MORE LAW AND ORDER

Police confirmed on Monday victims aged from the early 20s to early 50s had reported items stolen, including mobile devices, backpacks, wallets and cred­it cards, between April 25 and May 12. The incidents, which have occurred in Clayton, Burwood, Mulgrave, Mount Waverly, Glen Waverley, Box Hill and Oakleigh, were likely to be linked.

A number of arrests have been made, with the hunt continuing for offenders.

[e-mail]