The mayor of Aitutaki in the Cook Islands has presented the visiting New Zealand foreign minister with a 25,000 New Zealand dollar cheque for the victims of the Canterbury earthquakes.
The minister, Murray McCully, says the money has come from fewer than 2,000 people of an island destroyed by a cyclone a couple of years ago.
"They had a four-hour radiothon and raised 25,000 dollars. They've just been along to present that to me in front of the full cabinet. It was a very nice ceremony and an indication we've got some very good friends in the Pacific."
The New Zealand foreign minister, Murray McCully
