Scott Ludlam (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a)

congratulates His Holiness the Dalai Lama on celebrating his 75th birthday on 6 July 2010;

(b)

notes the Dalai Lama’s unstinting commitment to non-violence, his pragmatism in seeking a ‘Middle Way’ approach in order to reach a peaceful and practical solution for the future of Tibet and its people and his work in promoting inter-religious understanding;

(c)

acknowledges the Dalai Lama’s Nobel Peace Prize awarded in 1989, his US Congressional Gold Medal in 2007 and the many other awards and honours presented for his wide-ranging work in advocating peace, non-violence, inter-religious understanding, universal responsibility and compassion; and

(d)

expresses its hopes for a peacefully negotiated settlement between the Tibetan people and the People’s Republic of China.

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.

Alan Ferguson (SA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for two minutes.

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

The Australian government does not support this motion. As has been stated just recently, the government objects to using formal motions to deal with complex international matters, particularly those involving other governments. The Dalai Lama is a significant religious leader and Nobel prize laureate. He has visited Australia in this capacity on several occasions. Successive Australian governments have consistently adhered to a 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. The government considers that the key to a comprehensive and durable solution to problems in Tibet lies in continued negotiations between representatives of his Holiness and China conducted sincerely and in good faith. We do not believe that either the Australian government’s careful management of the complex and important relationship with China or progress on sensitive Tibetan issues will be materially assisted by this motion.

Scott Ludlam (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to make a very brief statement.

Alan Ferguson (SA, Deputy-President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Leave is granted for two minutes.

Scott Ludlam (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Senate is about to vote on congratulating his Holiness the Dalai Lama on celebrating his 75th birthday. That is a complex foreign policy matter if ever I heard one! I did not hear anything in the minister’s statement that contradicts what is in this motion. Nothing that is in this motion contradicts Australian government foreign policy, as far as I am aware, expressing our hopes for a peacefully negotiated settlement between the Tibetan people and the People’s Republic of China. There is nothing at all in this motion that contradicts to my knowledge Australian government foreign policy or indeed the foreign policy of the opposition. So why are senators lined up to vote it down? This has happened three or four times in a row and I am absolutely at a loss to explain why it is.

I take the minister’s point that we do not want to send the wrong signals to the international community by just knocking through motions like this. What kind of signal does it send to vote against a motion expressing hopes for a peacefully negotiated settlement between the Tibetan people and the People’s Republic of China? That to me is rather more awkward than either negotiating with the Australian Greens on the wording of the motion, which we are always happy to do, or simply voting for it. I do not understand quite how it is that senators and members from both of the old parties can stand up and have their photos taken with the Dalai Lama when he comes to Australia and yet sit on this side of the chamber and vote against something like congratulating him on his 75th birthday. I leave it there because I think senators are well aware of where I am going.

Question put:

That the motion (Senator Ludlam’s) be agreed to.