Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—In addition to the remarks made by the minister, I want to indicate to the chamber that in some ways the opposition does share concerns expressed by the minister about the use of the process of notices of motion, on matters as serious as this, as a relatively blunt instrument. The difficulty we have is distilling the very complex issues, both diplomatically and in human rights terms, into a single motion that comes before this chamber for one vote, no matter what the clauses say, no matter what the clauses seek.

The chamber has previously had an opportunity to discuss in debate the recent violence perpetrated on the people in Tibet and to raise concerns through that process. As an opposition and, indeed, as a chamber, we obviously share very significant concerns about the restrictions imposed on the people of Tibet, particularly in relation to freedom of religion and belief. It would be preferable to have adequate access to information about recent events in Tibet. It would be preferable to be able to deal in a more comprehensive fashion with our concerns, but the process of the motion in this context does not necessarily allow that. I know that a number of members in this chamber in recent times have had the honour and privilege of meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama on his recent visit to Australia and hearing at first hand some of the concerns that he has raised with the Australian community. We also have, because of the nature of our democracy, the opportunity to discuss those and talk about them publicly and raise them with the representatives of China in this country. I am sure many people do. I know that my colleagues, Andrew Robb, the member for Goldstein, and Dr Nelson, the Leader of the Opposition, have also taken up those opportunities. Indeed, Dr Nelson took up the opportunity to meet with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, on his most recent visit.

It is important that we consider in depth these issues and examine the challenges that dealing with them in a single motion presents, and I share some of the concerns that Senator Faulkner has raised in his remarks. I thank the chamber for the opportunity to place these brief remarks on the record.