Australian politicians urged to affirm Tibetan rights from Chinese interference
When: Monday September 1
8am-8.10 Pictures outside on Parliament House lawns
8.30AM Media event/ interviews: Mural Hall, Parliament House, Canberra
Pictures:
CANBERRA, Australia: Delegates in traditional colourful Tibetan cultural dress, Tibetan monks in robes, Tibetan children's choir singing Prayer for Dalai Lama, 2 x Tibetan-Australian Newcastle Jets academy soccer players doing soccer tricks.
The Australia Tibet Council’s (ATC) annual Tibet Lobby Day will be held Monday September 1-2, 2025, bringing Tibetan-Australian voices directly to Federal Parliament.
This year’s focus is the critical issue of the Dalai Lama’s succession and celebrating his 90th birthday, with 2025 being observed as the Year of Compassion globally.
The ATC urges the Australian Government to adopt a clear policy: only recognize a Dalai Lama chosen through Tibetan Buddhist practices and traditions, without Chinese Communist Party (CCP) interference.
In their meetings with federal parliamentarians on Monday delegates will highlight urgent concerns for Tibet's future and global human rights.
Delegates will also press for an end to China's repressive policies and transnational repression against Tibetans, including those living in Australia. The CCP continues to monitor, intimidate, and weaponize relatives in Tibet against exiled Tibetans in Australia, denying them true freedom.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate His Holiness affirmed on July 2, 2025 that only his personal trust, the Gaden Phodrang Trust, will confirm his future reincarnation. Yet the atheist Chinese government's ‘State Religious Affairs Bureau Order No. 5’ attempts to control this sacred Buddhist spiritual tradition, a profound violation of Tibetan religious freedom.
In a free democracy like Australia, citizens have the power to speak for the oppressed. Tibet Lobby Day empowers Tibetan-Australians to advocate for justice for Tibet.
The ATC calls for Australia to speak out clearly and consistently against human rights abuses in Tibet, and urges the Chinese government to recognise the fundamental human rights of Tibetan people and engage in genuine dialogue, without precondition, with His Holiness the Dalai Lama to achieve long-term peace and freedom in Tibet.
Available for interview:
Dr Zoë Bedford first volunteered with ATC in 1999. She was an aid worker in the Pacific and worked with Burmese refugees on the Thai-Burma border. Zoë has a Doctor of Social Sciences in Peace and Conflict studies from the University of Sydney as well as a Master in International Social Development from the University of NSW.
"Tashi delek, I have played football for the Newcastle Jets Academy since 2021. I came to Australia with my family as a refugee from India in 2016. Being an elite athlete in the Tibetan community means there is a big responsibility to advocate Tibet’s situation and make people aware of repression by the Chinese Communist Party through sport. Shiwa is studying a Bachelor of Exercise Science at Newcastle University.
I was born in Nepal and spent my early childhood in Budapest, Hungary where my father Chope Tsering was the Dalai Lama’s representative. I moved to Canberra when I was 10, studied law and accounting and am now a risk executive in superannuation. I met my wife at a Tibet Lobby Day and we are teaching our two daughters to speak Tibetan to preserve our culture.
"I was born in Tibet and reunited with my family in Australia at the age of 12. My father was imprisoned when I was 4 months old, and my parents escaped Tibet shortly after, but due to the dangerous mountain path, I was left in the care of my extended family. I am currently completing a Master of Primary Teaching.”
About us:
Australia Tibet Council campaigns for the freedom and human rights of Tibetans
Contact details:
Geraldine Nordfeldt: 0407 981 753 [email protected]
