Barbara Pocock (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the issue of Tibet. I want to thank my former colleague Janet Rice who was a passionate defender of human rights in this chamber. Having taken over her role as co-chair of the Australian All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet, I'm proud to continue her advocacy for the Tibetan Australian community and the fight for the fundamental rights of the Tibetan people.

Monday was Tibet Lobby Day. Thank you to the members of the Tibetan Australian community who came to parliament and made their voices heard. Thank you to Pema Tarasang, Tenzin Rabten and Tenzin Nyidon, who shared their stories with me. I heard of the immeasurable impact that fleeing Tibet has had on each of them and their families—of crossing the Himalayas at just six years old, of being unable to talk freely to their family in Tibet because of language barriers, and of the loss of Tibetan language and culture.

Millions of Tibetans in Tibet are living in oppression, unable to speak out or protest the occupation of Tibet without fear of arrest and torture. We must call out human rights abuses wherever they occur. The Tibetan community are asking us to listen and to help. They want an end to the colonial boarding-school system and the cultural genocide that they are experiencing. They want to protect the future succession of the Dalai Lama. They want Magnitsky-style sanctions on five Chinese officials who are committing human rights abuses and have been called out by many other countries using Magnitsky-style sanctions.

It is possible for us here in the Australian parliament to make a real difference, much like we did with apartheid in South Africa and like we did in Cambodia. We must show our solidarity with Tibet on the global stage.