26 April 2005 Media Statement

Final tsunami $ for $ funding announced

All of the $19 million allocated to match $ for $ public fundraising following the Indian Ocean tsunami has now been allocated to New Zealand NGOs and community groups, Aid Minister Marian Hobbs announced today.

“The New Zealand public showed tremendous generosity to the call for public donations to aid victims of the tsunami and I am very pleased that the government was able to recognise that,” says Marian Hobbs.

“The Government’s international aid and development agency, NZAID has coordinated the allocation process. Three funding rounds took place. The first two focused on urgent assistance projects, while the final round involved long-term reconstruction projects.

“Over the three rounds $19 million has been allocated to 49 New Zealand NGOs. The diversity of the organisations and the projects planned reflects the scale of this disaster and the vast region affected.”

Examples of funding include almost $9 million allocated to New Zealand Red Cross, $1 million to Caritas, $450 000 to SurfAid and $84 000 to the Wellington Tamil Society.

“Fundraising following the tsunami has really been unprecedented and New Zealand NGOs and community groups raised just over $25 million dollars. Due to this we need to split our $19 million equitably, therefore allocations were made on a pro-rata basis.”

“I acknowledge this means that some agencies did not get the full amount applied for, but we wanted to ensure this funding was allocated in the fairest manner possible,” says Marian Hobbs.

Rae Julian, the Executive Director of the Council for International Development which represents 73 development NGOs, said that the NGO community “welcomed and very much appreciated the government’s willingness to match the money raised by agencies and community organisations.

“Agencies are assisting the people affected by the disaster in so many ways “and we are very confident that the money raised is being well-spent. We look forward to continuing to work closely with NZAID in the longer-term work of reconstruction and development”, says Rae Julian.

The $19 million allocated for $ for $ funding was announced as part of a $68 million package given by New Zealand to assist Asian nations recovery from the tsunami.

A full list of allocations will be available at www.nzaid.govt.nz on Wednesday.

ENDS

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