"It is an uncomfortable responsibility being one of the only two developed countries of the South if we only identify with the North-there has been a tendency somehow or other to feel that we are misplaced in this area," said Matt Robson, New Zealand's Minister of Corrections, Courts, Disarmament and Arms Control, Land Formation, and Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and head of the New Zealand delegation to the conference. "We have to realize that we have a Pacific identity, and with that comes a responsibility to identify with the problems of our area, and with the strengths of our area too." As Australia and New Zealand have come into their Pacific identities over the past decade they have begun to take a more active role in the region, leading UN peacekeeping forces in East Timor and Cambodia, and helping to ease disputes in the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. The aid programs of both countries are also geared toward East Asia and the Pacific.

"There is perception that we want to change, that it's not just Africa where there are poor countries, but also Asia and the Pacific," said Chris Gallus, Australian Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and head of the Australian delegation here. Gallus is hoping to see a resolution at the end of the Monterrey conference by developed countries to open up their markets to more trade from the developing nations.

"I think that [such a resolution] should be the minimum because everything else rings hollow if that doesn't happen. Protection of developed countries' agriculture runs at $1 billion a day, and wealthy countries spend seven times as much on supporting agriculture than they do on delivering aid," she said, adding that Australia does not subsidize agriculture.

The opening up of rich markets could help many of Australia and New Zealand's regional partners, such as Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. But there are also many poorer developing nations that need official development aid in the region such as Cambodia and Papua New Guinea. "Australia does not in any way underestimate the very real demands and challenges of development in Africa, but with two thirds of the world's poor living in Asia we do need to focus on that," said Alan March, Director of the Australian Agency for International Development. The Development Assistance Committee (DAC) commended Australia in 1999 for their effective aid programs in the region.

"All of the issues that face those who are shut out of the rich countries face the people in the Pacific and East Asia. If we don't act as a key advocate, as a brother and sister to these countries, then I don't know anyone else who's going to," said Robson.