Sophie Scamps (Mackellar, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm extremely proud that Mackellar on the northern beaches of Sydney is home to the largest community of Tibetan Australians in the country. We are so fortunate to be enriched by this wonderful community. The birthdays of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibet, are always a cause for great celebration for Tibetans in exile around the world. This year, the 90th birthday of the Dalai Lama was an incredibly auspicious occasion. There was even greater cause for joy and celebration this year with the announcement by His Holiness that the spiritual institution of the Dalai Lama will continue after his death and that the search for the 15th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama will be done in accordance with past tradition by his inner circle only. This is the news that many millions around the world, both Tibetan and other, have been hoping to hear for many, many years, as the Dalai Lama has long been a beacon of hope and compassion in our world.

Recently I was delighted to attend two vibrant celebrations to mark these auspicious occasions. The first was a day-long joyful celebration of traditional culture in my electorate of Mackellar, and the second was a dinner at New South Wales parliament house when we were extremely honoured to have the Sikyong, or President of the Central Tibetan Authority, present with us to celebrate. These events were particularly significant because such celebrations are not possible inside Tibet.