"Would you like to join our peaceful protest against George Bush and John Howard?"

The APEC leaders may not be in Sydney yet, but their opponents have hit the streets and while the protesters will be kept well away from the leaders' summit, the issues they are raising such as nuclear deals and energy security are firmly on the agenda.

Australia is hoping to sign a uranium deal with Russia, while Australian officials have been discussing a joint nuclear energy action plan with the United States.

As for the other burning APEC issues, the Emeritus Professor of Strategic Studies at Australian National University, Paul Dibb, has moderate expectations.

No big breakthroughs

"They're going to discuss serious issues like climate change, like world trade negotiations and the stumbling of the Doha round and so on. They'll probably discuss terrorism and so on. But, you know, in polite societies some of the big issues like the rise of China and a Russia that, in my view, increasingly is, if not threatening to the West, certainly anti-Western. Obviously these things will not be discussed," he says. "(They'll be) no big breakthroughs I wouldn't have thought."

Professor Dibb's prediction is that the US President, George W. Bush, will make a climate change offering that will assist him at a meeting of big greenhouse gas emitting countries later this year.

The Australian Conservation Foundation's Executive Director, Don Henry, says APEC presents a unique opportunity.

Leadership sought on climate change

"We are truly facing a climate crisis. It is actually not a time for modest steps. It's not a time for undermining international effort, which is what Australia and the US have been doing in recent years. So it's the time to get on with the job, not prevaricate, not wear funny coloured shirts and joke and do nothing. I think Australians, but I actually think people around the Asia Pacific region, are really looking for leadership now on climate change," he says.

There is diverse leadership within the APEC bloc. There are developed economies like the US and Japan and developing countries such as Mexico, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Fariborz Moshirian, a Professor of Finance at the University of New South Wales, is expecting positive steps towards further financial and economic deregulation and an opening up of regional trade.

Foundation for free trade in the Asia Pacific

"I think this year's forum could be an opportunity for laying the foundation for free trade in the Asia Pacific," he says.

"One of the key challenges would be the disparity between rich and poor countries forming APEC. And so when we talk about free trade we need to know how to compensate those sectors and those farmers who are going to be negatively affected by free trade, and at the same time create an encouraging environment for those countries which have comparative advantage to be able to play the role model that they should demonstrate more effectively towards free trade."

Developments in international hot spots, such as Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, North Korea, Burma and Darfur is likely to take place in bilateral side meetings, and there will be many of those over the coming APEC week.

This story was compiled using material from a report by Karen Barlow aired on ABC radio's AM program on 1 September, 2007.