Asia-Pacific

Australian FM announces Haiti aid package

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-01-14 13:31

CANBERRA: Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith on Thursday announced a 10-million- Australian-dollar (US$9.3 million) aid package for those affected by the Haiti earthquake.

Smith said 5 million Australian dollars ($4.65 million) would be provided immediately for fresh water, food and shelters.

The rest of the money would be used to assist in long-term rehabilitation and rebuilding in the disaster-stricken area and more financial aid would be considered if required, he added.

Smith said Australia made the significant contribution because it wanted to be a good international citizen and had recently boosted relations with Caribbean nations.

Meanwhile, officials were still trying to track down other Australians who may have been in Haiti when the earthquake struck.

"It's a small number, a handful," Smith said.

"(But) what we do find in these circumstances is often that people who we believe may have been in the country where there's the tragedy are ultimately shown to be somewhere else."

The foreign minister stressed at this point there was "no evidence which would indicate that any Australian has either been injured or killed or caught up in the earthquake."