I don't think the claim was "All eastern governments did well", but more like "Most governments that did well, especially the ones vying for international clout

I don't think the claim was "All eastern governments did well", but more like "Most governments that did well, especially the ones vying for international clout, were eastern". Australia and New Zealand have never been considered particularly influential or leaders on the western stage. Although other westerners like us, we are not especially influential. The influence we have sought to exert on the developing world has been limited to South East Asia and the Pacific Islands, were states are generally doing well so the adequate response of ANZ is merely likely to get them to say "look, we're not so different" rather than "oh we respect you". So it seems barely relevant.