Michael Forshaw (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to Senator Faulkner, the Minister representing the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Given the continuing international concern at the unresolved situation in Zimbabwe, could the minister update the Senate on recent developments there, in particular the events surrounding the opening of the parliament and the impact of these events on the outcome of talks on the political crisis?

John Faulkner (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Forshaw for his question. What I can say to Senator Forshaw and the Senate is that the Australian government’s view is that Mr Mugabe has no legitimate claim to the presidency of Zimbabwe. He stole the presidency in an environment of violence and intimidation and of course with a lot of suffering from the people of Zimbabwe. Official results for the first round of the presidential election in March showed that Mr Morgan Tsvangirai won 47.9 per cent of the vote compared to Mr Mugabe’s 43.2 per cent.

The election of representatives from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party to both the Speaker and Deputy Speaker positions in the House of Assembly on Monday of last week indicates that there are cracks in the foundation of Mr Mugabe’s power. It remains to be seen what impact this will have but it reinforces the fact that the political crisis, including the key issue of executive powers, has not yet been resolved in Zimbabwe. The Australian government is deeply disappointed that despite several weeks of negotiations a resolution to the political crisis in Zimbabwe has not been found.

Negotiators from both parties returned to Zimbabwe over the weekend after having held discussions in South Africa with South African mediators but with little sign of progress towards a deal. Recent actions by Mugabe to strengthen his regime’s dominance raise questions about his commitment to these negotiations. The reopening of parliament by Mr Mugabe last week directly violated an agreement reached last month between all key parties which opened negotiations for a legitimate political solution.

Mr Mugabe announced on 27 August that he would soon be forming a new government. I can say, of course, that his regime is conducting an ongoing campaign of harassment and intimidation against opposition MPs. Australia has consistently called for a resolution to the crisis that reflects the will of Zimbabwe. This would have to include Mr Tsvangirai, who won more votes than Mr Mugabe in the presidential election. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Smith, has made clear that any political solution that does not include Mr Tsvangirai would be a farce and I think that is a very fair summation of the situation.

Australia has been at the forefront of international measures to pressure the Mugabe regime through sanctions while being careful to ensure that these measures do not affect ordinary Zimbabweans. Australian sanctions, of course, have been in place since 2002, as senators would be aware, and cover financial and travel restrictions applied to Zimbabwean ministers and certain Zimbabwean officials, a ban on adult children of sanctioned individuals from studying in Australia, suspension of non-humanitarian aid, prohibition of defence links, suspension of bilateral ministerial contact and downgrading of cultural links. Of course the government is committed to reviewing existing sanctions with a view to strengthening those sanctions.

Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask that further questions be placed on the Notice Paper.