Interview on Sky News

COMPERE: To cover Zimbabwe and other issues, Sky's chief political reporter, Kieran Gilbert, spoke to Foreign Minister Stephen Smith a short time ago.

KIERAN GILBERT: Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, thanks for your time this morning.

STEPHEN SMITH: Pleasure.

GILBERT: Morgan Tsvangirai, the Opposition Leader in Zimbabwe, has pulled out. He says that there's - it's a sham election and he wasn't ever going to gain power in that sham. It's a fair assessment, isn't it?

SMITH: Well, I think that's right. I mean, he's obviously come to the conclusion that the campaign of intimidation, of violence, of oppression, is such that there's absolutely no chance of anything like a full and free and fair election, and he's withdrawn rather than give legitimacy to Mugabe by winning a poll.

GILBERT: Is there scope now for the international community to step in here? That's what he's called for.

SMITH: What I think this does, this now really crystallises the need for, in the first instance, the African Union and Southern African Development Community states to start putting real pressure on Mugabe. This now crystallises the need for the African states and the international community to try and put pressure on Mugabe so that we get an outcome which might bear some relationship to the will of the Zimbabwe people.

Let's remember this: Tsvangirai's parliamentary party won a majority in the first ballot, the first round of elections. He won a majority in the presidential elections, and that was despite Mr Mugabe's regime seeking to rort that poll by counting.

And now we've seen him in a second round try and rort a poll by violence and oppression.

GILBERT: But can't the international community, the United Nations, can't the nations of the world do a bit more than just say to the African Union...

SMITH: Absolutely.

GILBERT: ...do you your best?

SMITH: Absolutely we have to do more. But I've been saying for some time, in the first instance we do need to see a response from the South African Development Community states and the African Union states.

The primary obligation and responsibility in the first instance goes with them. That's the first point.

Secondly, yes, we do need now to start, in the international community generally, much more of an attempt to put pressure on Mr Mugabe. There was a conversation or a debate before the Security Council in the last week or so. We now need to be doing everything we can to increase the pressure.

But in recent days, we've seen the South Africans and the other Southern African Development Community states start to place more pressure, to start the talk in terms of Mr Mugabe having to end the violence and the intimidation.

But Mr Tsvangirai's decision now crystallises all those things. The African states need to more, the international community needs to do more.

GILBERT: And quickly, I suppose.

SMITH: Absolutely.

GILBERT: I mean, the fact that he's pulled out, it means that there's basically, as he puts it, just a sham.

SMITH: Absolutely. Well, we've been saying for some time that there's been evidence of a brutal regime, intimidating, using violence, and using oppression, certainly starting in the rural and regional areas.

But Mr Tsvangirai's obviously come to a conclusion that there was absolutely no prospect of anything near a full and free election, and as a consequence, he's made this point. The obligation now falls on the regional African community and the international community to start putting maximum pressure on Mr Mugabe.

GILBERT: Mr Smith, on another issue, you're meeting your Indian counterpart today here in Canberra.

You've said that the Indians have a good, strong record on non-proliferation. If, in that context and if they agree to take part in Mr Rudd's Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Commission that he announced to be co-chaired by Gareth Evans, if the Indians show good will on that front as well, will we sell them uranium?

SMITH: Let's start with the visit. Firstly, Mr Mukherjee, my counterpart, is visiting Australia. He's a very senior figure in Indian politics. We'll be having a Foreign Ministers' dialogue, our first Australia-India dialogue since 2005.

Australia's relationship with India needs to be taken to a new level. We need, as I said in the last few days, a new relationship for a new century.

Now, uranium is just one small part of that.

GILBERT: It's not that small though, is it?

SMITH: Well, it is because there is a raft of issues which I think are very central and important to the Australia-India relationship. Energy and energy security is one of them. Uranium is a small part of that.

But our policy approach, which is a party position of longstanding, is that we only export uranium to a country that's party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and I've made that...

GILBERT: But if he agrees and the Indians sign up to the new commission that Mr Rudd's talking about and want to be a part of that, isn't that a sign of goodwill?

SMITH: Well, absolutely. Well, India, as I have said, has, as Australia does, has a good track record when it comes to arguing for disarmament in the international community, and we would very much like India to take part and play a role in the Disarmament Commission that we've announced.

But we've had, as a party, a longstanding policy position of only exporting uranium to countries who are party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. India, for its own reasons, is not a party to that.

But our exports of uranium to India are just one small issue. It's not something which is not going to disturb either our current relationship or prevent us from taking our relationship to a newer and higher level.

GILBERT: But it has a flow-on effect, doesn't it? I mean, if you're providing greenhouse-free energy source in terms of uranium to India, one of the great consumers and increasingly the largest consumers of oil, it has a flow-on effect in terms of oil demand as well. Why don't you - why doesn't the Government reconsider?

SMITH: Well, because Australia is a very strong supporter of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and we always have been. And uranium and the exporting of uranium has been a contentious issue amongst the Australian public for a long period of time, as it has been in the Labor Party.

We've resolved that issue, but one of the ways in which we've addressed and resolved that issue is by saying if we do export uranium, we only export uranium to a country who is a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. India is not such a party.

But in terms of other forms of energy, of course that will form part of our conversation today, whether it's liquefied natural gas to India or other forms of renewable or clean energy.

But if I can make this point: For a long time in my view, Australia has under-appreciated its relationship with India. India is now one of the emerging powerhouses. Most people focus on the rise of China. We have to focus as well on the rise of India. We have to not just look to China but also look west to India.

And in the course of this century, Australia's relationship with India is going to be very, very important. And there are a whole range of things that we have in common which set the scene and auger well for us, but we have to put our shoulder to the wheel.

India, of course, the largest parliamentary democracy, they respect the rule of law, respect the law of contract. Our economic engagement with India in recent years has advanced considerably. We now need to take advantage of that and have with India a first-class relationship, a new relationship for a new century.

GILBERT: Let me just ask you one last question...

SMITH: Sure.

GILBERT: ...in relation to the whaling issue. The commission is meeting in Chile as we speak. It's come just off the back of the Prime Minister's talks in Tokyo where they basically agreed to disagree on the issue of whaling.

To balance off our concerns but also the sensitivities in Tokyo, Mr Garrett can't go too far, can he?

SMITH: Well, Mr Garrett obviously is leading our delegation. We've made it clear to the Japanese, as they have to us, which they'd like to try and find a diplomatic solution. Those discussions at a diplomatic level can take place both bilaterally, as they did between me and my counterpart, Mr Komura, and our Prime Minister and the Japanese Prime Minister. But they can also take part or take place in a multilateral forum like the International Whaling Commission.

So no doubt Mr Garrett will have conversations with his Japanese counterparts and delegation in the course of this week.

But Mr Garrett's also making these points before the International Whaling Commission: Australia wants to reform the International Whaling Commission can't just be a forum where numbers of whales or whale cull is determined' it's got to be a genuine conservation and environment forum.

So there are a whole range of reform proposals that Mr Garrett will be putting before the International Whaling Commission, and that of itself will be a good thing.

GILBERT: Mr Smith, thanks for your time.

SMITH: Thanks very much. Thank you.

Media Inquiries: Foreign Minister's office (02) 6277 7500