A Victorian government MP has apologised for her "poor choice of words" after warning residents not to open their doors to Irish people.
Consumer Affairs Minister Marlene Kairouz on Monday said during an awareness campaign launch about travelling con artists "if anybody knocks on your door that has an Irish accent, automatically ask them to leave".
She had been warning Victorians to watch out over summer for people who knocked on their door or approached them unexpectedly offering to do odd jobs.
The minister made the comment about Irish people after mentioning many dodgy tradies had accents, and being asked to specify what kind.
"It's not good that we're specifically targeting a particular accent but, in our experience, it's been the case," Ms Kairouz said.
A day later, the minister apologised for her comments and for offending people with Irish heritage.
"Recent scammers have been backpackers from the UK & Ireland & I was giving this info to the public," Ms Kairouz tweeted.
"I admit I delivered this msg poorly."
Premier Daniel Andrews noted his minister's apology.
"It is fair to say the minister misspoke and didn't mean any offence and has apologised accordingly and that would be, from my point of view, the end of the matter," he said.
But Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce president Fergal Coleman said Ms Kairouz's comments were "astonishing".
"Come to (the Irish Australian Chamber of Commerce) and meet our hard working community. You can apologise in person," he tweeted.
In a statement, the Australian Embassy in Dublin said "the embassy notes that Minister Kairouz has subsequently issued a statement to Twitter, acknowledging that her words had been poorly chosen, and apologising for the offence caused by her comments".
Australia's Ambassador to Ireland, Richard Andrews on Twitter reiterated "how much Australia values the hugely positive contribution the Irish people and their descendants have made to Australia".
