Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has promised to match funds raised by Australia's Italian community to help victims of the deadly earthquake that devastated central Italy in April.
Mr Rudd addressed the Italian-Australian Fundraising Dinner in Melbourne on Friday night ahead of a trip overseas next week that will include an economic forum in the devastated Italian Abruzzo region.
The prime minister said the Italian community in Australia had already raised substantial funds towards rebuilding, with a radio-a-thon on national Italian radio station Rete Italia attracting $300,000 in one weekend.
"Where you make such an effort, the government should also pitch in," he said.
"That is why I have decided that we will match the Italian community's fundraising efforts dollar-for-dollar up to a level of $1.5 million."
An earthquake of 6.3 magnitude hit the city of L'Aquila on April 6 this year killing nearly 300 people, injuring 1,500 and leaving 40,000 homeless.
Mr Rudd, the patron of the Australia-Abruzzo Earthquake Appeal Fund, heads off overseas on Monday for meetings in Malaysia and Germany before he meets world leaders attending the 17-nation Major Economies Forum in L'Aquila.
He said he would see firsthand the consequences of the devastation.
"I will carry with me, on your behalf, a message of solidarity, support and goodwill to the Abruzzesi and to their future," he said.
Many prominent Italian-Australians attended Friday's dinner, including former Victorian governor and Supreme Court judge James Gobbo, current Supreme Court judges Tony Pagone and Bernard Bongiorno and building magnate Bruno Grollo.
Mr Rudd continued his habit of delivering greetings in foreign languages telling the audience in Italian that "Australia wouldn't be the country it is without Italians".
Before visiting Italy he will meet with Football Federation president Sepp Blatter in Zurich to sell Australia as a world cup venue.
He also announced Australia and Italy had signed a science research agreement on developing radio telescopes that aim to look deeper into the universe than ever before.
"And during my visit next week we will take the next step in that collaboration when Australia and Italy sign an agreement to provide for cooperation on the international Square Kilometre Array project, a cutting edge global project, to build a group of radio telescopes to help us look into the deepest history of the universe," he said.
"For us, having the home of Galileo Galilei on our side would be very important."
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