I want to do so because I think it offers the key to resolving the region's troubles, and because it also offers lessons for countries around the globe. It is becoming very clear that proper attention to issues of governance can not only help nations recover from economic shocks like East Asia's crisis, but can actually prevent the crises occurring in the first place. I want to outline some of the valuable work Australia has been doing in our region to promote the reform of governance, both to meet immediate needs and to strengthen capabilities over the longer term. Such work, I suggest, is not only good for the countries of our region, but is also in the best interests of Australia. Governance is a very broad concept that embraces just about every facet of society - the public and private sectors, finance and the economy, law and justice, and civil society.
Some countries lack both policy-making and institutional capacity.
Programs to address governance must be flexible enough to cope with the particular needs of the country in question. We also need to be aware that such programs often deal with very sensitive issues, like corruption, and may threaten powerful vested interests. And on another level, they may even be seen as a challenge to national sovereignty. It is about how individuals and groups within society pursue their interests and make their voices heard. It is about how they settle their differences, and how they organise and exercise their legal rights and obligations.