The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) has finished relief operations in Fiji following Cyclone Winston, and is heading home.
Almost 500 combat engineers, soldiers, sailors and aircrew, two ships and six aircraft were involved in delivering hundreds of tonnes of critical aid to Fiji, Defence Minister Gerry Brownlee says.
HMNZS Canterbury is now preparing to leave Fiji after a month and a half of relief and recovering operations.
More than $15 million has been committed so far to recovery activities, Foreign Minister Murray McCully says.
"The withdrawal of the NZDF marks the transition to the reconstruction phase of New Zealand’s support for Fiji, which will focus on schools, evacuation centres and medical facilities on Vanua Balavu and elsewhere in Fiji, as well as efforts to stimulate the local economy post-Winston," he says.
NZDF assets and personal have begun winding down, and HMNZS Canterbury is due back in Auckland on April 21.
Newshub.
