$2.4m for earthquake trauma counselling

People stand on a traffic island in central Christchurch after one of the aftershocks from Saturday's earthquake. Photo / Sarah Ivey

The Government has set aside $2.4 million for trauma counselling for Christchurch earthquake victims, Social Welfare Minister Paula Bennett says.

Speaking in Christchurch, she said 34 counsellors from across New Zealand would head to the quake-stricken city today.

People needed expert help, and many she had spoken to had been traumatised by the earthquake and the aftershocks.

She was also concerned that domestic violence rates had doubled in the city and the extra services would help families during a stressful time.

The extra counsellors were just a start and more would arrive in the next few days.

The city already has about 100 counsellors, including those from Victim Support and other agencies but it would grow to as many as 150.

The extra funds would play for flights and accommodation of the counsellors "who will stay as long as needed", Ms Bennett said.

She said she had met many victims who feared the unknown, were fragile and the message was clear that they needed help.

The trauma counsellors would visit welfare centres, or people could call the helpline 0800 779997 to make an appointment or find out where they could get help. The helpline had already fielded 6000 inbound calls with people asking for help or volunteering.

Ms Bennett today met staff and clients at Work and Income (Winz) branches in Christchurch.

Winz New Brighton case manager Ruby Tiavolo said the past few days had been busy with many people needing food assistance as power cuts had soiled fresh food.

People were also seeking petrol vouchers so they could leave Christchurch and applications were beginning to come through for civil defence grants.

Te Kerei Moka, 25, was one of many who queued for the branch to open today.

He told of feeding his three-month son on the couch when the 5.1 magnitude aftershock struck before 8am this morning, knocking a picture off the wall and hitting his neck.

"My heart was racing," he said, adding he was moving his family to his mother's Aranui home today.

He was at Winz for food assistance, as power had been off at his house since Saturday and his family had not been prepared.

Ms Bennett said Christchurch had 5000 unemployed people, of which 1000 had building skills and 700 had experience with diggers and machinery.

Winz would work with these people to help them find jobs in the earthquake aftermath.

She had respect for the resilience of Christchurch people after experiencing her first big tremor this morning. ``Boy it was big all right, people leapt from their tables and chairs.''

- NZPA