Backlash against lord mayor’s Little India vision for Docklands

Melbourne’s Lord Mayor wants to build a $10 million “Little India” precinct in the city’s Docklands, but the proposal has run into opposition from residents.

Some Docklands locals say the money would be better spent tackling their suburb’s serious design and planning failures.

Lord Mayor Nick Reece pledged $10 million in his 2024 election campaign to build a Little India precinct somewhere in the city and the City of Melbourne’s draft budget this year includes $1.2 million to “progress” the precinct in the Docklands.

The council says Little India is expected to include outdoor cooking and dining, recreation facilities, public art and space for cultural events, although the local authority has not pinpointed a location in Docklands.

But at the City of Melbourne’s council meeting this week, Docklands resident Henry Macedo spoke against the creation of the precinct.

“Docklands does not need another branding exercise,” he said. “It needs practical investments in the everyday issues that residents like me face.

“Docklands continues to struggle with serious planning failures that have been left unresolved for years.

“We live with harsh wind tunnel conditions, limited greenery and shade, wide roads that prioritise movement over people and inactive streets that discourage community life.”

Macedo told the meeting that authentic cultural precincts like Chinatown and Koreatown in the CBD were not manufactured from the top down, but had grown organically.

“With our waterfront location, Docklands should feel like a vibrant harbour neighbourhood, not a transit zone on the edge of the CBD,” he said. “Spending $1.2 million on signage, branding and curating ... while these issues remain unresolved, sends the wrong message.”

Another Docklands resident, Grace Whaung, has started a petition on Change.org against creating a Little India in the suburb because she is concerned the precinct would fail to recognise the diverse community in the Docklands which is home to people from all cultural backgrounds.

“Positioning it as ‘Little India’ threatens to overshadow this rich tapestry, risking the marginalisation of the broader community in favour of promoting a singular cultural identity,” she said.

In response to the backlash, Vasan Srinivasan, president of the Federation of Indian Associations in Victoria, started his own petition on Change.org backing the precinct, which he said was a “golden opportunity” for Indians in Melbourne.

Srinivasan said he would like to see the precinct modelled on Southall in the UK, Little India in Singapore, Brickfields in Malaysia, or closer to home, the existing Little India in Dandenong.

But the community leader said more than $1.2 million was needed, and the cost was likely to be more like $5 million to $10 million.

“It is deeply disappointing to see negative ... commentary overshadowing this visionary initiative,” Srinivasan said. “Even more concerning is the silence from many within our own community.”

Srinivasan’s petition has 192 signatures, while Whaung’s has attracted just 18.

Reece said he was undeterred by opposition to the proposal and that he was confident the public would embrace Little India, just as it had Chinatown, Koreatown, Little Italy on Lygon Street and the Greek precinct on Lonsdale Street.

An online racist backlash to the Little India concept has also emerged, with the council forced to disabled comments on its social media posts relating to the proposal, after bigoted material was posted on them, in line with its zero-tolerance approach to racist or derogatory content.

“Diversity is Melbourne’s strength, and racism has no place here,” Reece said. “Little India will be a vibrant celebration of culture, bringing people together through food, festivals and shared experiences.”

Councillor Phillip Le Liu said while he was happy to support the Little India precinct, the $1.2 million allocated in the budget should instead be put towards trying to host an India versus Pakistan cricket match at Marvel Stadium.

“It could be a better way to celebrate Indian culture than having a Little India precinct which there are different views about,” he said. “You can look at the success of Chinatown or Lygon Street but they are community-driven. Council or government never really stepped in. Little India is more council driven.”

The City of Melbourne plans further engagement with residents in the coming months and to lobby the state and federal governments for additional funding for the precinct.

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