Hi Tom
The Celestron "All Star Polar Alignment" feature on GEM mounts with Nexstar plus hand control (including wedge set ups) has had a bug for all southern hemisphere users since the hand controllers release
.
The symptom is exactly what you've experienced. Basically it doesn't work
The good news is, Celestron have finally released a new beta firmware version for the Nexstar HC just this week for beta testers to test and report results. Once the version is stable Celestron will release the firmware to the public.
I tested this version last night and the ASPA performed as it should with all other feature working perfectly as well. I don't think it will be very long at all until this firmware version released publicly.
If you don't want to wait you can sign up to the Team celestron site and have access to the beta version.
Hope this helps.
Cheers
Rod