Auckland companies with links to the Pacific are being urged to stump up 10-thousand New Zealand dollars each to help the islands cope better with cyclones and natural disasters.
The call has come from Auckland's mayor, Len Brown, at the launch of a new Mayoral Fund for the Pacific.
It is a response to Pacific communities calling for more co-ordinated relief efforts in the wake of Cyclone Evan's destruction in Samoa and Fiji last year.
Mr Brown says he has committed 10-thousand dollars a year from the mayoral budget and wants business leaders to follow suit.
"We are looking for businesses right around Auckland who have strong links into the Pacific, and most businesses do, to just put in a similar amount, 10 thousand dollars, and try and get the fund up to 100 thousand and then well over the top."
Len Brown says the fund will focus on strengthening the ability of Pacific countries to withstand cyclones, rather than on disaster relief.
