Campaign to raise $1m for David Bain

A Wellington drug and alcohol counsellor has launched a

, despite them never having met.

Bain was earlier this month denied compensation for the 13 years he spent behind bars before being acquitted over the death of five family members in Dunedin in 1994.

Instead the Government made an ex-gratia payment of $925,000 on the condition he waive further legal challenges for compensation.

But Roger Brooking said the Government got it wrong and Bain should have received a more appropriate level of compensation.

"Whether the $925,000 is regarded as compensation or not, one thing is clear: David Bain will not be recognised as innocent by the Government," Brooking said.

"Nor will he receive an apology from the Crown for the 13 years he spend in prison. He deserves one."

A Givealittle site was created in January and launched yesterday. One person pledged $5000 and another $2000 within hours of each other to help bring the total to $7230 this morning.