The people in Zimbabwe, a country that was acknowledged as one of the most rich and beautiful in Africa, are suffering horrific conditions. We know that, in terms of its economy, there has been a virtual collapse of the agricultural sector and that real gross domestic product has declined by 30 per cent in the last five years. The latest inflation rate figure is over 1,590 per cent. I cannot even begin to understand those figures.

What the inflation rate means in practical terms--and this is an example that Sekai talks about--is that on the black market a bottle of milk to feed your family can cost 10,000 Zimbabwean dollars one day and up to 17,000 Zimbabwean dollars the next day. Many people in Zimbabwe are starving at the moment; they cannot afford to eat. The unemployment rate is so high that people have stopped collecting the figures.

This, I repeat, is a country that was once known as one of the most rich and successful countries in the region and where there was great hope. When independence was declared in Zimbabwe, there was international celebration that people would be able to move forward into a new world. That hope has been dashed and what has occurred in Zimbabwe over the last 10 years is a shame to all of us.

As a community we can do things to make these issues public and to show our support for the people in Zimbabwe. We can work through organisations like Amnesty International, which maintains a watch over that country. My close friend Dave Copeman, who is now working in the Amnesty International network in East Africa, has close links with Zimbabwe--he worked there during the period leading up to the last elections. He continues to email information to let people know exactly what is happening to friends, comrades and family members who are still in Zimbabwe.

That is the kind of international communication that the current Zimbabwean government would like to cease. In fact, it calls people who do that traitorous. That is not traitorous; that is freedom of the press. It is quite clear that we need to know what is going on.

I have been impressed by the amount of information coming out of the country--I think mainly through the operation of the internet. There are a significant number of people from Zimbabwe who are living in Australia and who maintain communication with people there through the internet. Many of us cannot believe the stories that are coming out of that country, because we are offended by the level of violence and the absolute betrayal of people's freedoms that is occurring there.

We can continue to work with the Australian government to ensure that we keep our voices strong at the UN. I think we can do that, but we have a message for those people in Zimbabwe: we have not forgotten them. We will continue to listen to their call for help. Their cry for democracy is one that we share.