Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) on 6 February 2023, United Nations independent experts identified that approximately one million Tibetan children were being affected by Chinese government policies aimed at assimilating Tibetan people culturally, religiously and linguistically through a residential school system;

(b) on 14 December 2023, the European Union Parliament adopted a resolution on the abduction of Tibetan children and forced assimilation practices through Chinese boarding schools in Tibet;

(c) on 10 June 2024, the Canadian House of Commons unanimously passed a resolution in support of Tibet and the Tibetan people; and

(d) on 12 June 2024, the United States Congress passed the 'Promoting a Resolution to Tibet-China Act';

(2) stands in solidarity with the people of Tibet;

(3) recognises Australia is deeply concerned about reports detailing China's assimilationist policies, including:

(a) forced labour transfer programs and the coerced separation of Tibetan children from their families through state-run boarding schools;

(b) the detention of Tibetans for peaceful expression of political views;

(c) the suppression of Tibetan religious expression; and

(d) the use of excessive security measures against Tibetans;

(4) reiterates that the Tibetan people are entitled to their fundamental human rights and freedoms, including their right to self-determination;

(5) further recognises that:

(a) Tibetans should be empowered to freely choose their economic, social, cultural, and religious policies without interference; and

(b) religious and spiritual communities should be empowered to choose their own religious and spiritual leaders without government interference, and this should include the eventual successor of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama;

(6) calls on:

(a) the Chinese Government to reengage with the representatives of the 14th Dalai Lama to establish genuine autonomy for Tibetans within China, and urges the Chinese authorities to release the Panchen Lama; and

(b) China to:

(i) repeal legislation and cease practices which discriminate against Tibetans on the basis of race or religion;

(ii) cease arbitrary detention, coercive labour transfer, and family separation programs;

(iii) end restrictions on movement and on the rights of Tibetans to enjoy their own culture and language; and

(iv) allow meaningful and unfettered access to Tibet for independent human rights observers; and

(7) further notes successive Australian Governments have and should continue to raise the issue of human rights violations in China, through political dialogues with the Chinese authorities at the highest levels.

I move this motion as it appears on the Notice Paper because I am so proud to do so as a part of a bipartisan show of support alongside the member for Lyne and alongside the member for Macquarie and the member for Fraser. I've been here for eight years, the same as the member for Macquarie, and I don't think I've ever seen before a motion that has been moved in this place with bipartisan support. Normally these motions are an opportunity for the main parties to butt heads, but that is not the occasion tonight.

You might ask why I am here talking about Tibetans when there are so many other issues affecting Australian families. I'm very lucky, as the member for Fisher, to represent some wonderful people from all corners of the world. We are home to the Chenrezig Institute, a home for Tibetan Buddhist monks, nuns, students and interested travellers alike. I rise to speak on behalf of them and their loved ones and I'm very pleased to see that there is a very strong show of the Tibetan community here in the chamber tonight. I rise to speak on behalf of Tsering, Tenzin, Samdhong and the many Tibetan representatives here today. I rise to speak because I can't stay silent.

Every single day, the number of victims of the Chinese communist regime grows. For seven decades, the people of Tibet, including Tibetan Buddhists, have borne the brunt of the most barbaric oppression. Even today we see children abducted, trafficked and forced into boarding schools which strip them of their cultural, religious and ethnic identity. They are taught that Tibet has long been part of China and a rejection of China's brutal takeover in the 1950s. This systematic cultural assimilation seeks to crush Tibetans' identity, their culture and their religion. We see people of faith, democracy activists and minority groups forced into labour camps where they are beaten, tortured and enslaved. Alongside others, the Tibetan people are forced into a state sponsored system of organ trafficking. And now, while the CCP seeks to crush Tibetan identity and aspiration, we see the most basic tenets of the Tibetan Buddhist faith under fire. That includes Tibetans' right to political and religious self determination when it comes to selecting the eventual successor of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.

You see, the Chinese Communist Party are not content with simply trying to wipe out the culture of Tibet and Tibetans; they also want to remove their religious background. The CCP want to control who will become the successor to the Dalai Lama. We are a strong democracy, and I am so incredibly proud to be standing tonight and to see that there is bipartisan support on this, because, if we as democracy-loving people in Australia don't stand up for the people of Tibet, who will? If we don't stand up for them tonight, when will that happen? We cannot allow a whole group of people to lose their culture, their religion and their identity. That cannot happen on our watch.

We must not shy away from calling out the Chinese Communist Party tonight. We must speak up on behalf of the people of Tibet and the growing number of victims of the CCP. We all know that these actions are not constrained. These abuses of human and civil rights are not constrained just to the people of Tibet. This also applies to the Uighurs. It is incredibly important, and I am so pleased that the members for Macquarie, Fraser and Lyne will also speak on this issue. It's a matter of great pride that Australians can take this stance here tonight.

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