Michael Danby (Melbourne Ports, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When this parliament concludes for the winter session, I will be leading a very disparate group of parliamentarians to Dharamsala in the far north of India to honor the 74th birthday of his Holiness the Dalai Lama. The delegation includes myself, the member for Fremantle who is here, the member for Fisher, Senator Xenophon, Senator Hanson-Young and Senator Ludlam. We will be going to Delhi first and I appreciate the fact that the Australian High Commission will enable us to meet some people from the Indian parliament in their famous parliament, the Lok Sabha, where we will be very clearly indicating to them the disgust that most Australians have at the disgraceful attacks on Indian students and the prejudice that comes from them and that every action should be taken by state police organisations wherever there are international students or people travelling late at night on trains to protect their safety and look after their well-being. We will be doing a most important thing and I repudiate attacks on us by the Chinese embassy in Melbourne’s Age on Friday that we are interfering in Chinese politics. We are supporting the Tibetans’ moderate program of autonomy within a Chinese federation. We are not supporting Tibetan independence.

Bruce Scott (Maranoa, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Order! It being 6.55 pm in accordance with standing order 192A the time for members’ statements has concluded.