Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

McCully ignoring aid officials' advice, says Labour

Updated at 9:37 pm on 3 September 2010

The Labour Party has accused Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully of running aid by the seat of his pants and ignoring his officials' advice.

Mr McCully announced on Friday a $3.5 million system to help Pacific nations deal with tsunamis.

But an aid group, which has had its funding to prepare people for tsunamis suspended, says Mr McCully is ruthless in his approach to cutting aid to non-governmental organisations.

Labour's associate foreign affairs spokesperson, Phil Twyford, says Mr McCully isn't making aid decisions based on any written advice.

Mr McCully says his officials advised him to set up the new fund for tsunami preparedness.

He also says New Zealand is getting more value for money from its aid spending after changes in priorities made by the Government. He says National made a commitment before the election to spend less money on aid bureaucrats and more at the coal face.

Mr McCully is in Samoa and earlier this week visited the Solomon Islands and Kiribati.

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