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$6 million in lottery funding has been allocated to the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal, the Minister of Internal Affairs Nathan Guy has announced today.

“In total $154 million in lottery allocations will be pumped back into the community this year, from the proceeds of games like Lotto, Instant Kiwi and Daily Keno.

“The $6 million grant will go to the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal, following a grant of $8.2 million raised by a special Lotto draw earlier this year.

The Minister Responsible for the New Zealand Fire Service, Nathan Guy, has thanked the last of the international USAR teams who have left Christchurch today.

“The Queensland Fire and Rescue Task Force have left Christchurch today, and we are deeply grateful to them and all the other international USAR teams who helped us in our time of need.

“At its peak, around 600 USAR personnel were based in Latimer Square in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake. This included foreign personnel from Australia, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, China, USA and UK.

Lotto customers have been thanked for their generosity in buying tickets for last Saturday’s special draw by the Minister of Internal Affairs Nathan Guy, which raised $8,248,300 for the people of Christchurch.

The New Zealand Lotteries Commission has today formally transferred this money to the Lottery Grants Board, which is chaired by Mr Guy. The money will now be passed onto to the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal to help the community recover.

Half of all Lotto sales for this coming week will be donated to help with Christchurch earthquake relief efforts, Internal Affairs Minister Nathan Guy and the New Zealand Lotteries Commission have announced tonight.

“Under section 245 of the Gambling Act 2003, New Zealand Lotteries can promote a ‘Special Purpose Lottery’ for a community purpose. This requires a written direction to the Board from the Minister of Internal Affairs and I have now signed this.

The Minister Responsible for the New Zealand Fire Service, Nathan Guy, has been on the ground visiting firefighters in Christchurch today to observe recovery efforts.

”Firefighters and Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams are well trained and prepared for emergencies like this, especially after the September 4th quake when valuable lessons were learnt. They swung into action immediately after this quake and have been working non-stop ever since.

The Minister of Internal Affairs Nathan Guy has announced an extension to the deadline for applications from quake-affected areas to the New Zealand 2011 Festival Lottery Fund.

The Minister Responsible for the New Zealand Fire Service, Nathan Guy, has visited firefighters in Canterbury today to inspect the recovery work and thank them for their efforts over the last week.