Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Blue Mountains has a small but strong Tibetan refugee community, many of whom have taken the path to citizenship. It's because of the stories of struggles that they've shared with me that I became engaged in the human rights issues that Tibetans experience. Many of those who come to Australia have been arrested for their activities in Tibet within Chinese borders. They've shared with me the challenges of being afraid to communicate with families still there, the fear that any contact might generate unwanted attention on that family member. They've shared their commitment to trying to increase the freedoms that their families in Tibet experience.

So I was very pleased to lead a delegation to meet with the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamshala in northern India last month. Arranged by the Tibet Information Office in Canberra, my all-party parliamentary group for Tibet included my co-chair, senator Janet Rice, and we were joined by the Deputy Speaker and the member for Mackellar. Our purpose was to meet with members of the Central Tibetan Administration, including leader Sikyong Penpa Tsering, ministers of his government and members of that democratically elected government. I know the Deputy Speaker was very pleased to meet her counterpart, also a woman. The Dalai Lama's decision to create a democracy that serves the interests of all Tibetans outside Tibet was an ambitious one, but it was terrific to see what fresh eyes do in developing a democracy from scratch.

We had the opportunity to discuss geopolitics with the Dalai Lama for nearly an hour, and that was a real privilege. We met with younger members of civil society. We visited a school, a nunnery, a medical centre and an aged-care home, where Tibetan compassion and hope run strong. We saw their efforts to maintain Tibetan culture while in exile and heard their concerns for fellow Tibetans in China, particularly around the removal of about a million Tibetan children from families into boarding schools and the widespread DNA data gathering. Both those issues were raised. As the UN experts say, there are practices taking place that run contrary to the human right to education, the right to linguistic and cultural freedom, and the right to freedom of religion or belief. There was also deep concern expressed, including by the Dalai Lama, about the environmental damage being done to the fragile Third Pole. Tibet has the largest alpine ecosystem in the world, with 14 of the highest mountain peaks providing fresh water to more than 10 river systems.

What was very clear is that the words of support from the Australian government are very much appreciated by Tibetans living in exile. There was also appreciation for our visit, although I think we were the grateful ones to gain insight into the lives that Tibetans in exile are leading. I will continue to advocate for the rights of Tibetans whose educational, religious, cultural and linguistic freedoms have been eroded. I look forward to continuing also to work with my local Tibetan community.

I want to mention small gifts that I took from Australia, including wooden wombats, tea towels and aprons from the Ferry Artists Gallery in Wisemans Ferry and work from Tangentyere Artists in Alice Springs. They were very warmly received, including by the Dalai Lama, who held his emu tea towel up with pride. I feel very strongly it will not be used to dry the dishes. It was a very powerful and memorable experience. I want to thank Karma Singey, the representative of the Dalai Lama for Australia and the region, and Dr Zoe Bedford, the executive officer for the Australia Tibet Council, for joining us on the visit.

Small businesses don't operate without good connectivity, and it's vital in disasters. The Albanese government has confirmed the funding in our budgets to fix 14 mobile black spots in the electorate of Macquarie: Blaxlands Ridge; Bowen Mountain; Oakville; Maraylya; Berambing; Bilpin; St Albans; Central, Upper and Higher Macdonald; Yellow Rock; Hawkesbury Heights; and Bullaburra. Mount Tomah, which was treated with disdain by the previous government, is also being constructed. It's more than $6 million. They should have been done following the 2019-20 fires or, even further back, following the 2013 fires. This makes a difference to business and gives them an even playing field.

House adjourned at 20:00

The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Claydon ) took the chair at 10:35.