 | |
 Australia |  Zimbabwe |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Embassy of Australia, Harare | Embassy of Zimbabwe, Canberra |
| Envoy | |
| AmbassadorBronte Moules | Ambassador Joe Tapera Mhishi |
Foreign relations exist betweenAustralia andZimbabwe. Both countries have full embassy level diplomatic relations.[1] Australia maintains an embassy inHarare,[2] and Zimbabwe maintains an embassy inCanberra.[3]
Australia |  Southern Rhodesia |
|---|---|
| |
Australia |  Rhodesia |
|---|---|
Australia |  Rhodesia |
|---|---|
The nations of Australia and Zimbabwe both have their origins incolonies established by the British as part oftheir empire in theGeorgian andVictorian eras. While Australia experienced significant amounts of white immigration from Europe (beginning in the 19th century), Zimbabwe was only settled by Europeans in the 1890's and the white population of Zimbabwe always remained a minority. The colony ofSouthern Rhodesia was grantedself-governing status in 1923, but was not granteddominion status, unlike Australia orSouth Africa. Australia had a limited early trading relationship with Rhodesia, with a small Trade Office established in Salisbury in 1954, and in 1955 Australia signed a trade agreement with theFederation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. In 1964-65, the last year prior to the Rhodesian unilateral declaration of independence, Rhodesian exports to Australia were valued at £1.2 million, comprising mostly tobacco (74%), andferroalloys (14%); while Australian exports to Rhodesia were valued at £2 million, comprising mostly wheat (50%) and tallow (10%).[4]
The colony ofRhodesia eventually broke away from the British Empire in 1965, with the white-minority government ofIan Smith issuing aUnilateral Declaration of Independence as the state ofRhodesia. This new state of Rhodesia, despite gaining unofficial support fromapartheid South Africa andEstado Novo Portugal (until 1974), failed to gain any international recognition and became increasingly isolated. TheAustralian government ofRobert Menzies did not officially recognise the declaration, noting "there can be no diplomatic recognition by the Australian Government of a government so formed."[5] Despite this, several backbench government MPs visited Rhodesia in a private capacity following the UDI (DrWylie Gibbs,James Killen,Ian Pettitt andWilfrid Kent Hughes in 1967 andDavid Connolly in 1976).[6][7][8]
Despite the federal government's decision to not formally recognise Smith's regime, prior to the election of theWhitlam government in 1972, Australia was one of the few countries to provide Rhodesia with diplomatic support. This was motivated by some groups of the population being sympathetic towards white Rhodesians. The Australian Government's support included issuing several Rhodesian diplomats withAustralian passports during 1967 and 1968 and tolerating theRhodesia Information Centre, the Rhodesian Government's unofficial diplomatic mission in Australia. Australia also abstained during some votes onUnited Nations measures that targeted Rhodesia.[9] The Rhodesia Information Centre andRhodesia-Australia Association were the main organisations that advocated in support of the white Rhodesian regime in Australia, but media coverage of the Rhodesian Government was almost entirely negative.[10]
In 1966, the Rhodesian Government established an office of the Rhodesian Information Service in Melbourne, before moving in 1967 to Sydney at 9 Myrtle Street,Crows Nest.[11] However from 1972, following a change in government, the Australian federalLabor government ofGough Whitlam inCanberra sought to close the office.[12] In 1973, the federal government attempted to cut post and telephone links to the Centre, but this was ruled illegal by the full bench of theHigh Court (Bradley v. The Commonwealth (1973) 128 CLR 557).[13][14] Later in 1973, the NSW Corporate Affairs Commission attempted to cancel the registration of the Rhodesia Information Centre on the basis that its name implied official connection to the unrecognised Rhodesian government, and on 12 June 1974 theNSW Court of Appeal upheld this decision, which resulted in the office officially registering as the "Flame Lily Centre", although was still generally referred to as the Rhodesian Information Service.[15][16] The office remained open despite further efforts to close it under the succeeding government of Malcolm Fraser. It was closed by the Zimbabwean Government in May 1980.[17][18][19]
During theCommonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 1979 held inLusaka, Zambia, Australian Prime MinisterMalcolm Fraser was instrumental in convincing the then British Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher to withhold British recognition of the government ofZimbabwe-Rhodesia, prompting Britain to host theLancaster House Agreement at which full independence and majority rule for Zimbabwe was agreed upon.[20] During the implementation period of the Lancaster House Agreement and ceasefire, Australia maintained the second largest official presence in Rhodesia, after Britain. On 21 December 1979, Australia lifted its economic sanctions on Rhodesia, and contributed a contingent of 152 Australian soldiers (under the command of ColonelKevin Cole) to the 1300-person Commonwealth Ceasefire Monitoring Force (alongside the United Kingdom, Fiji, Kenya and New Zealand), which was present in the country from 23 December 1979 to 5 March 1980.[4]
An Australian Liaison Office (headed by career diplomatCharles Mott as the Special Representative) was established in Salisbury on 23 December 1979 to "assist the Ceasefire Monitoring Contingent and election observers with political support and advice, and to serve as a direct point of contact between the Australian Government and the British Authorities in Salisbury."[4] Senior Australian diplomat,Mick Shann, was appointed to the Commonwealth team observing the1980 Southern Rhodesian general election, and Australia also sent a national observer group for the election held in February 1980.[21] In its report of 11 March 1980 the group noted that "freedom and fairness in elections are not absolute" and concluded "that in all the circumstances the 1980 Rhodesian elections achieved a sufficiently high level on the scale (of freedom and fairness) to be described as free and fair".[4]
In recognition of Fraser's contribution to Zimbabwean independence, the new Zimbabwean Prime Minister, Robert Mugabe, invited Fraser to attend Zimbabwe's independence celebrations in Salisbury on 17–18 April 1980.[22] Fraser met with Mugabe on 18 April, announcing $5 million of assistance to the new country, and noted: "There have been times when peace in Zimbabwe has seemed an unattainable goal. However, it is now a reality which will permit the energies of the people of this country to be directed towards a better life for everyone, with opportunities for all. Australia wishes Mr Mugabe every success in the difficult task ahead of him."[23]
Australia established aHigh Commission in Salisbury on independence in 1980 by upgrading the existing Liaison Office, withJeremy Hearder as the first High Commissioner. Zimbabwe established a High Commission in Canberra in 1988, with Dr. Eubert Mashaire as the first High Commissioner.[24] Later Zimbabwean representatives included Lucas Pande Tavaya (1990–1994), and Professor Hasu Patel (1994–2000).[25][26]
In October 1991, Prime MinisterBob Hawke visited Harare as part of theCommonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Hawke met President Mugabe and advocated for the Zimbabwe government's approval of the Hartley platinum mine proposed byBHP.[27][28] On his visit, Hawke expressed to parliament:
My short bilateral visit to Zimbabwe at the invitation of President Mugabe was a particular pleasure for me. In part, President Mugabe's invitation was a mark of appreciation for the role which Australia played in the long and difficult process of securing Zimbabwe's independence - and I pay tribute here to the part which my predecessor Mr Malcolm Fraser played in this; for the support we offered through our peacekeeping forces and election observers in the transition period; and for our aid and assistance in the immediate aftermath of independence and since.... I was heartened by the commitment to multi-party democracy in Zimbabwe which President Mugabe evinced in our discussions.[29]
In 2014, when being interviewed by Dr Sue Onslow of theInstitute of Commonwealth Studies, Hawke later expressed his view of having met Mugabe: "I hated him. He’s one of the worst human beings I’ve ever met. He treated black and white with equal contempt. He was a horrible human being."[30]
Relations between the two countries began to sour when the government in Zimbabwe began its controversialland reform programme, occupying farms owned by members of Zimbabwe's white minority, sometimes by force. Following evidence of violence and intimidation in the2002 Presidential election, Australian Prime MinisterJohn Howard, alongside South African president,Thabo Mbeki, and the Nigerian president,Olusegun Obasanjo, led efforts which resulted in Zimbabwe's suspension (and eventual voluntary departure) from theCommonwealth of Nations in 2002–2003.[31] The fourth Zimbabwean high commissioner in Canberra,Florence Chitauro (2001–2006), became the first ambassador in 2003 following Zimbabwe's departure from the Commonwealth, and in December 2003 was summoned to theDepartment of Foreign Affairs and Trade to explain comments she made about Howard to the effect that he was "acting like a dictator" as chair of the Commonwealth action group on Zimbabwe.[32][33][34]
In an unusually blunt declaration in 2007, Prime Minister Howard described Robert Mugabe as a "grubby dictator".[35] Howard also called for other African countries to put pressure on Zimbabwe to crack down on the increasingly autocratic Zimbabwean government.[36] Sporting links between the two countries were also disrupted, with the Howard government banning theAustralian cricket team from taking part in a scheduled tour of the country, citing the propaganda boost that it would provide for the Mugabe régime.[35]
Howard's successor as Prime Minister of Australia,Kevin Rudd, was also critical of the Zimbabwean Government. Before the 2007 election, he criticised thePeople's Republic of China for providing "soft loans" to the Zimbabwean Government,[37] and later offered aid to Zimbabwe only if the2008 elections in that country were "fair".[38] In December 2013 the Zimbabwean Ambassador to Australia since 2010, Jacqueline Zwambila, resigned and sought asylum in Australia due to fears of arrest should she return to Zimbabwe due to her links with Prime MinisterMorgan Tsvangirai and the official opposition.[39][40]
On 22 November 2017, following Mugabe's resignation as President following acoup d'état, Foreign MinisterJulie Bishop noted that Australia "welcomes the resignation of Zimbabwe’s Leader Robert Mugabe after 37 years of increasingly authoritarian and oppressive rule. His resignation provides an opportunity for Zimbabwe to establish proper conditions for free and fair elections to take place and to transition to an inclusive, peaceful constitutional democracy."[41] With the inauguration of a new President,Emmerson Mnangagwa, the outgoing Australian Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Suzanne McCourt, met with the president and later commented to Zimbabwe state media that the meeting was a positive sign of improving relations between the two countries.[42]
Following Zimbabwean independence, bilateral trade between the two countries grew slowly. By 2007, this trade was valued at $12 million Australian dollars annually. By far the most valuable export from Zimbabwe to Australia was unprocessedtobacco, but construction materials and passenger motor vehicles were also exported. Australian exports to Zimbabwe included machinery, toys, games, sporting goods, and pottery. Despite the variety of goods being traded, neither country was a principal trading partner of the other, with Australia being ranked 34th in terms of merchandise exported by Zimbabwe, accounting for only 0.2% of total exports.[43]
In 2002, the Howard government in Australia imposed targeted sanctions against members of the Zimbabwean government in protest against the deteriorating political situation in Zimbabwe. The sanctions were extended and strengthened in 2007.[44] These sanctions have included restrictions on travel to and through Australia for certain members of the Zimbabwean government, suspension of all non-humanitarian aid, and prohibitions on defence links.[45] TheRudd government in 2008 considered further sanctions against Zimbabwe, with foreign ministerStephen Smith declaring that "I've made it clear that we are open to consider more sanctions ... We are currently giving active consideration to that issue."[46]
At the 2006 Australian census, 20,158 people listed themselves as having been born in Zimbabwe. Of these, ten thousand (or roughly 50%) had arrived since 2001.[52] The 2011 Census recorded 30,252 Zimbabwe-born people in Australia, an increase of 50.1% from 2006, with the largest populations in Western Australia (9817), Queensland (8341), and New South Wales (5639).[53]
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