Australia will remain committed to the reconstruction of tsunami-ravaged south Asia as long as its help is needed, Prime Minister John Howard vowed Sunday. Australia became the biggest single donor in the relief effort last week when it promised 1 billion Australian dollars (US$757 million; ¤579 million) to Indonesia _ half in grants and the remainder in interest-free loans _ to be delivered over five years. Canberra also has pledged A$60 million (US$45 million; ¤34 million) in aid toward the relief effort across south Asia. Howard said Sunday that Australians are playing a leading role in one of the biggest humanitarian aid operations since World War II. Australia provided the first foreign emergency response teams to arrive in Indonesia, hardest hit in the Dec. 26 earthquake and ensuing tsunami, he said. "We will stay as long as we are needed," Howard said in a nationally televised address on the disaster. "Australia, in its distinctive, practical way, will remain in the forefront of helping those who have lost and suffered so much." --SP 1304 Local Time 1004 GMT
