No special quake compensation for Chinese families - Key

Prime Minister John Key. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Chinese parents who lost their only child in last month's Christchurch earthquake will not be getting special compensation, Prime Minister John Key says.

The Chinese Embassy asked for compensation to Chinese families who lost children in last month's Christchurch earthquake.

Because of China's one child policy New Zealand should make special arrangements for added economic assistance, on top of provisions like ACC, Chinese Embassy disaster relief head Cheng Lei said.

So far, seven Chinese students have been identified as killed in last month's earthquake, and more than 20 are missing.

About 70 foreign students were enrolled at the Kings English Language School in the destroyed Canterbury TV building.

Mr Lei said there was a notable difference between Chinese families and other foreign families, which needed to be taken into consideration when providing compensation to families who lost their only child.

"You can expect how lonely, how desperate they are... not only from losing loved ones, but losing almost entirely the major source of economic assistance after retirement," he told Radio New Zealand.

Mr Key said he felt for those families.

"Our greatest sympathy goes to those families... we have a policy under ACC that applies to international citizens as much as it does to locals," he told reporters this afternoon.

Apart from ACC many of the students had insurance.

"The Government's made it clear it will help in terms of repatriation of bodies and helping families so outside of that, at this stage we don't have any intention to make any other changes."

Tertiary Education Minister Steven Joyce earlier also ruled out compensation saying it was difficult under New Zealand's legal framework.

Labour leader Phil Goff said diverse countries' citizens could not be treated differently.

"You can't base your policy on that. There may be many students here who are only children in their families whether they be Chinese Japan, Thai, Filipino. You can't make a decision premised on that."

- NZPA