Australian arrives in New Zealand to help oil spill

An Australian oil recovery team has arrived in New Zealand to help authorities deal with a cargo ship that has been spilling fuel into the North Island, ABC News reported on Sunday. In what threatens to be the country's worst maritime disaster in decades, the New Zealand navy was called in on Saturday to help clean up an oil slick, which now threatens to break apart on an offshore reef. ABC reported that 10 Australians who worked on the Montara oil spill in the Timor Sea two years ago joined the on-water response team in New Zealand on Saturday night. Maritime New Zealand also confirmed that 300 New Zealand defense personnel were on standby while a further 200 people, including specialists from Australia, Britain, Holland and Singapore, are part of the team hoping to contain the five- kilometer oil slick. New Zealand officials estimated 20 tonnes of oil has spilled since the Rena struck the Astrolabe reef, off the town of Tauranga on Wednesday.