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SYDNEY, Monday (AFP)

Anti-globalisation protesters threatening to disrupt a Commonwealth summit in Australia next month were urged Monday to help developing nations by giving the conference a fair go.

Commonwealth deputy secretary for development cooperation Winston Cox warned that to reject globalisation was to deny the benefits of technology and first world economic growth to the 1.6 billion people living in poverty.

He said those who purport to speak for the poor would be doing them a disservice by disrupting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, to be held in Brisbane from October 6 to 9.

"I hope that the protesters will understand that if they make CHOGM a target they will be attacking what they say they believe in and the very people whose cause they say they support," Cox told the 47th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference here.

"It would be a tragic irony indeed if those who wish to speak on behalf of the poor should prevent the poor from speaking for themselves."

An anti-capitalist coalition of anarchists, Trotskyists, militant environmentalists and other mostly left wing groups is preparing to blockade the conference with mass demonstrations like those which have disrupted a series of international conferences over the last two years.

Cox, who presented the opening speech to the conference in place of Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon, said CHOGM aimed to promote the fair distribution of the gains from globalisation by giving developing nations an opportunity to put their case for a better deal.

He said the issue was not globalisation but its management, how it was controlled, who benefited and how the rules were made.

"The commonwealth is continuously grappling with these questions and I firmly believe that we can make the difference that will allow the citizens of commonwealth developing countries to enjoy the fruits of globalisation," he said.

"To all those who are concerned about globalisation, I say join us, support us in our work to empower and expand the life chances of the people who make up our countries.

"Come with us in our all-round efforts to ensure that the benefits of globalisation are shared widely and fairly."

Meanwhile Australian officials said Monday they still expected Queen Elizabeth to visit the country next month in spite of worries over the health of Britain's 101-year-old Queen Mother.

A Foreign Affairs spokesman confirmed the Queen would open the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Brisbane on October 6.

Reports in the British press on Sunday said she might call off the trip to stay with her mother.

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