Louise Markus (Greenway, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and Citizenship) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today in support of the motion put forward by the member for Fremantle. The opening paragraph of an article by Stephen Bevan in today’s Sydney Morning Herald highlights yet again the concerns raised by the rest of the world for the people of Zimbabwe. He writes:

THE President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, has declared that he will go to war if he loses the presidential election in two weeks’ time.

I address the House today to express my concern for the people of Zimbabwe amid the current climate of political turmoil and crumbling civility. This is a country where the life expectancy is only 34 years of age, where over four million people depend on international aid and where over 80 per cent of the population live in extreme poverty. Robert Mugabe has terrorised the people of Zimbabwe for too long, and it is essential that democracy be allowed to have its effect and that his reign end.

I urge the Minister for Foreign Affairs to continue his efforts on Australia’s behalf, and I urge that the Australian government play a more critical role in calling for international assistance for the citizens of Zimbabwe. It is essential that the government elected in Zimbabwe can take action on the problems faced in that nation and start the arduous, hard work that will be required to provide the basic services that the people so desperately deserve. The current situation in Zimbabwe is best summarised by one doctor, who stated:

Put simply, people are dying of AIDS before they can starve to death.

According to Caritas News, 2,200 people die of AIDS every week. Of those, 240 are children aged less than 15 years. Over 10 per cent of the total population are orphans, and nearly 1 million of them are HIV-AIDS orphans. This is a tragedy.

I support the motion to express concern with regard to the inconceivable delay of the release of the official results from the presidential election conducted on 29 March. This assault on democracy was clearly nothing but a last-ditch attempt to starve the people of Zimbabwe of what they deserve—change. It was a gross miscarriage of justice that once again stood in the way of constitutional rule, and yet few were surprised. It is essential that the consequential run-off election not be conducted with the same arrogance and disdain for the rule of law on the part of Mugabe, even though the stories in today’s paper tell a different story. It must be conducted without intimidation.

Reports of violence are all too frequent, with an article in the South African Times reporting over 60 murders of Movement for Democratic Change supporters since the March election alone. Even in today’s age of superefficient international communication, it is a constant battle for Zimbabweans, who are subject to the most appalling censorship in the world. Australia should immediately renew calls for international journalists to be allowed to have access to Zimbabwe and to report their findings without fear of retribution. It is simply unacceptable for a dictatorship of this nature to have any place in the modern world. The people of Zimbabwe deserve better—much better.

Whilst I support the Minister for Foreign Affairs in his endeavours so far, I call upon this government to do more to help in Zimbabwe. Australia should be leading the charge for international pressure in Zimbabwe. I support the shadow minister in his appeal to Mr Rudd to call on the Commonwealth Secretary-General to convene a Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting to influence the African leaders. The only way to secure a fair and true outcome in this run-off election is through the pressure of African leaders and the presence of Commonwealth observers.

Australia needs to provide the people of Zimbabwe all possible assistance in changing their government if that is their desire. The basic rights are outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Presently Zimbabweans are denied the right to protection from arbitrary arrest; the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; the right to freedom of opinion and expression; the right to take part in the government of their country; the right to work; the right to a standard of living adequate for health and wellbeing; and, the right to education.

Not only are they being denied these essential rights and freedoms, they are subject to gross mismanagement of the economy, which has resulted in financial chaos. The current inflation rate is at a mind-boggling 160,000 per cent. It is one of the few countries in the world where billionaires cannot afford a loaf of bread. The maladministered treasury continues to print money and government spending is increasing to put upward pressure on the already-skyrocketing figure. Mugabe has failed the people of Zimbabwe by anyone’s standards and the people have had enough.

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