New Zealand is making an immediate 1-million-NZ-dollar (US$743,000) contribution to international relief efforts following the devastating earthquake in Haiti, Foreign Minister Murray McCully said on Thursday.

The government was also trying to organize consular assistance for New Zealanders in Haiti, he said.

"As the enormity of this disaster emerges, the international community is rapidly mobilizing to assist the people of Haiti," McCully said just minutes after announcing that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had postponed a visit to New Zealand to coordinate her country's relief efforts.

"New Zealand's contribution will therefore be channeled through international relief agencies such as the International Red Cross and various United Nations Agencies, who are already in Haiti and have the ability to respond effectively to such a disaster," he said.

McCully said that as further assessments of the damage and the type of assistance required emerged, New Zealand might look at further contributions.

(Xinhua News Agency January 14, 2010)