CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Mr WALLACE (Fisher) (10:36): I support the member for Macquarie's words in relation to the Tibetan delegation who are here today. They'll be joining me in my office later on this morning, I believe. We have one of the largest religious institutions in Australia.

It's called the Chenrezig Institute. It's in Eudlo. I try and get there as often as I can, because they are very, very decent people.

I get to meet the monks and the nuns, who are dedicated to their faith. It's a different faith to mine, but certainly these are very good people. The member for Macquarie and I have tried to get a motion up in this Chamber.

Last year, we moved a motion together. I think it was the first time that a motion has been moved in this place where it was moved by a Labor Party member and seconded by a Liberal Party member, such is the support across the political divide for the people of Tibet. The people of Tibet are beautiful people.

I hope to be able to go to Tibet one day to visit the Dalai Lama. What we're seeing in Tibet now is a great shame. We are seeing young children who are being forcibly removed from their families.

They are losing their cultural identity. The People's Republic of China are basically trying to 're-educate' the children. They are literally removing them from families, and they are losing their culture.

They're losing their language, and they are being so-called re-educated in manners that are agreeable to the People's Republic of China. The member for Macquarie also spoke about how the People's Republic of China are trying to force themselves into their faith so that they can control who the next Dalai Lama will be, and that is an absolute disgrace. These people deserve the right to be able to choose who they regard as their own spiritual leader—the next Dalai Lama—and not have someone that's endorsed by or forced upon them by Beijing.

I welcome the delegation today, and I look forward to further discussions with them in my office.