Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes that His Holiness, the Dalai Lama:

(i)

is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate,

(ii)

addressed a joint sitting of the United States (US) Congress in 1991 and received a US Congressional Gold Medal in 2007,

(iii)

addressed the European Parliament in 2001 and 2008, and

(iv)

has been made an honorary citizen of Canada; and

(b)

extends an invitation to His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, to sit in the distinguished visitors gallery on the floor of the Senate during Question Time, on Thursday, 26 November 2009, the last sitting day of 2009.

Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Leave granted.

The Australian government does not support the motion. The Dalai Lama is always welcome to visit Australia in his capacity as a religious leader and Nobel Prize laureate, as he has done on several previous occasions. The precedent of this chamber on this issue is that only members of legislature and members of government have been granted seats in the distinguished visitors gallery. It would therefore, on that advice, be inappropriate for the Dalai Lama to be seated to in the distinguished visitors gallery. Successive Australian governments have consistently adhered to the one-China policy. We recognise China’s sovereignty over Tibet and China’s territorial integrity. The Australian government does not recognise the Tibetan government in exile as a government. Granting the Dalai Lama a seat in the distinguished visitors gallery could easily be misconstrued as some kind of political recognition. On that basis, as I have indicated, we do not support the motion.

Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Leave granted.

Could I place on record on behalf of the coalition our view on this matter. I have discussed it with Senator Xenophon on several occasions. It has been considered seriously within the coalition at the highest levels. Our consideration has been based on our very great regard for the Dalai Lama. Indeed, it has been my privilege to be present while he has addressed the Press Club and other forums in Australia on several occasions. He is truly a great human being. But it is a matter of what is appropriate, what has been the practice with visitors of his kind and what precedent there is for such a proposal. Based on the Clerk’s clear advice, there is no known precedent for anyone other than members of parliamentary delegations being on the floor of the chamber, as Senator Ludwig properly said. Based on that advice, we on balance do not believe that a precedent should be set in this case or that the convention should be broken.

We have concerns about a precedent of this kind being set. That would mean that it would be frankly impossible to reject requests of this kind for any other visiting religious leader or non-parliamentary member to be on the floor. We think it would be an enormous privilege for us to have the Dalai Lama visit our Parliament House in November, but in our view the proper and appropriate approach would be for the President to invite the Dalai Lama to be present in this chamber in the President’s gallery. I would certainly hope that such an invitation could be extended and accepted were the Dalai Lama be good enough to visit Australia—a visit that I hope will indeed take place.

Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a short statement.

Leave granted.

The China syndrome is alive and well. The Dalai Lama is a Noble Peace Prize winner and one of the great philosophers, religious leaders and political thinkers on the planet in 2009. He has addressed the US congress—both houses—and he has addressed the European parliament and he ought to have the facility to come into this chamber. I think what the parliament should have done a long time ago is have a joint meeting in the Great Hall to hear an address from the Dalai Lama, but—

Nick Minchin (SA, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Sure.

Bob Brown (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

‘Certainly,’ says Senator Minchin. I will put that proposal to the government. The last time His Holiness was in this building there was a refusal from the Presiding Officers to hold a reception. That was bilateral. It seems that, whichever major party gets into office, they immediately go to water because there is fear of what the communist authorities in Beijing will say. The Dalai Lama is a political leader of the exiled Tibetan people and, as far as they are concerned, of the seven million people in Tibet. Let us not beat around the bush here. The fact is there is fear of Beijing, alive and well. I do not accept it and the Greens do not accept it. Convention is something that grows; it is not something that blocks. It would be appropriate for the proposal to be adopted by this chamber and the Greens feel very strongly about it. (Time expired)

Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I seek leave to make a short statement.

John Hogg (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for two minutes.

Nick Xenophon (SA, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I do appreciate the discussions I have had with both Senator Minchin and Senator Ludwig in relation to this. I wish to make the point in relation to the motion that I jointly moved with my colleague Senator Hanson-Young that precedents can be made by this place; we are not bound by previous precedents and we can set a new precedent. If the concern of senators is that this would open the floodgates for you, Mr President, to be obliged to invite a whole host of people to the distinguished visitors’ gallery, I would have thought that this was quite narrowly confined in the sense that we are talking about a remarkable individual who has won the Nobel Peace Prize, who addressed a joint sitting of the United States congress in 1991, who received a US congressional medal in 2007, who addressed the European parliament both in 2001 and as recently as November 2008, and who has been made an honorary citizen of Canada.

I do not think it would disrupt the business of the Senate unduly for the Dalai Lama to be invited to the distinguished visitors’ gallery on the floor of the Senate and to be acknowledged. I would have thought, if there are a handful of individuals in the world of his stature that he was one of them, and this would not set a precedent that would be disruptive to the business of the Senate or be unreasonable in the circumstances. I express my disappointment that we cannot go down this path, and I hope that one day the Senate will revisit this issue as to who can be invited to the distinguished visitors’ gallery.

Question put:

That the motion (Senator Hanson-Young’s and Senator Xenophon’s) be agreed to.