As Queen Elizabeth II listened on, Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon charted a new activist role Saturday for the organisation that rose from the remnants of the old British Empire.

The formal opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) here Saturday began with dancers performing against a backdrop of local scenes, including a Willi Willi, or mini tornado, sweeping through fire-charred bushland.

The only anthem sung, however, was not 'God Save the Queen', but 'Advance Australia Fair'.

The queen, dressed in flame red, even smiled when Australian Prime Minister John Howard -- an avowed monarchist -- appeared to mistake King George V for the Queen's father, George VI, in his welcome speech. In between the key addresses, Aboriginal performers from the local Gubbi-Gubbi tribe took the stage, charting a progression from traditional dance to one in which they donned skin-tight catsuits sprayed with Aboriginal designs.

The message was consistent with that proffered by both McKinnon and later the queen that times are changing and the Commonwealth "family" established in 1931 must adapt and modernise its role in the 21st century.

This being an Australian coastal resort town, there were performers celebrating the deeds of lifeguards, surfers and sporting heroes, and a rendition of Waltzing Matilda. On a big screen, there were scenes of bushfires and beaches and the Outback.

As representatives of the 50-plus Commonwealth states entered the big-top style tent in which the cere-

mony was held, they were preceded by flag bearers.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Nigerian President Olesugun Obasanjo entered together, despite their differences over whether or not to expel Zimbabwe over government-sponsored human rights abuses.

Shortly afterwards, the rain came down outside, a tropical storm pelting an Australian military honour guard outside.

The queen listened as McKinnon used the opening ceremony to deliver a warning about the threat posed by poverty to member states.

In doing so, the secretarygeneral also redefined the organisation, discarding the usual definition listing the Commonwealth's member states and offering in its place a new focus on the people it represents.

"Poverty means disease, hunger, no clean water, limited commu-

nication -- it is deeply destabilising and one of the greatest threats to democracy," McKinnon said.

"The test of successful development is not the bureaucratic approval of a project, it is not the measurement of outcomes, it is not the returns on capital.

"It is ultimately the smile of a child ... This should be the measure of our success.

"No-one in the world can have a secure future, when half the world has no future at all."

The queen appeared to signal her approval, urging the Commonwealth to adapt its role in order to survive.

CHOGM "must deal with the challenges facing the organisation," she said.

"You also face the challenge of defining its longer-term future ... The Commonwealth must move with the times if it is to remain relevant to all generations."