Abbott to meet Dalai Lama, Gillard not sure

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott will meet with the Dalai Lama next week but Prime Minister Julia Gillard still isn't saying whether she will do the same.

The Tibetan spiritual leader will visit Canberra next Tuesday as part of an 11-day visit to Australia that begins in Melbourne this week. He is also visiting New Zealand this week.

A spokesman for Mr Abbott on Tuesday confirmed he will meet with His Holiness at Parliament House.

But Ms Gillard's office says the prime minister's plans are still not settled.

"The prime minister's diary hasn't been finalised yet," a spokesman said.

Asked last month about the impending visit, Ms Gillard did not rule out a meeting.

"Representatives of successive Australian governments have met with the Dalai Lama unofficially and privately," she told parliament on May 23.

"I expect that members of this house and members of this government will have similar opportunities to meet him."

Mr Abbott previously met the Dalai Lama in December 2009, shortly after taking over the Liberal leadership. He still has a photo of the meeting on display in his office.

Then-prime minister Kevin Rudd was accused of kowtowing to China by declining a meeting during the same visit.

The Dalai Lama's travels often spark diplomatic tensions between host countries and China, which regards the Nobel Peace Prize winner as a dangerous separatist.

The former head of the Tibetan government in exile has long campaigned against China's occupation of his homeland and sought autonomy for his people.

The Chinese embassy in Canberra could not be contacted for comment on Tuesday. But West Australian government MPs last month said they had been pressured by Chinese officials not to meet the leader.

The Dalai Lama will also meet with Australian Greens Leader Bob Brown and other Liberal and Labor MPs and senators in Canberra.

The Australia Tibet Council says about 50 federal politicians have agreed to attend a parliamentary reception for the leader.

- AAP