The Dalai Lama says he is "not unhappy" Prime Minister John Howard has not met him during his national tour.
The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader has delivered a wide-ranging speech at the National Press Club in Canberra.
The Dalai Lama has renewed his call for autonomy for Tibet and the protection of Tibetan culture and its environment.
But he says China is increasingly reluctant to relinquish control of Tibet.
And with tongue firmly planted in cheek, he says the best way to control population growth is for more people to become monks and nuns.
The Dalai Lama says he is not troubled that Mr Howard will not meet him.
Both Mr Howard and Opposition leader Simon Crean have said they have other obligations which prevent them from meeting him.
That has angered the Democrats and the Greens, but the Dalai Lama says he is not worried about it.
"The nature of my visit here is not political, there is no sort of agenda to talk with politicians here, including [the] Prime Minister," he said.
"If he available, he wants to meet me I'm happy, if he has other engagements its absolutely all right, no problem."
Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd says he will meet the Dalai Lama in Sydney tomorrow.
Mr Rudd will discuss Buddhism and developments in Tibet.
Mr Crean says he was due to meet the Dalai Lama but had to cancel because he received an invitation to the East Timor independence day celebrations.
Reception
Earlier the Dalai Lama met some federal politicians during a reception hosted by Greens leader Bob Brown and Democrats senators.
No senior Labor or Liberal politicians attended although there was a small number of backbenchers from both parties.
Liberal backbencher Pat Farmer says it was an honour to meet the exiled Tibetan leader.
"I represent the seat of Macarthur so south-western Sydney is quite a diverse area.
"We have many people out there and many religions represented there and many people from all sorts of countries so I see this as a great opportunity for me to truly represent the people of my area," Mr Farmer said.
