Bidders love PM's cast-off

CAST AWAY: Prime Minister John Key has put the cast on his broken right arm up for sale on internet auction site Trade Me, with bidding hitting the $1000 mark within hours of yesterday's posting.

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It's blue, made of plaster and signed by a cast of several, including Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

And, apparently, worth at least $1300.

Prime Minister John Key has put the cast on his broken right arm up for sale on internet auction site Trade Me, with bidding hitting the $1000 mark within hours of yesterday's posting.

By last night, the top bid had reached $1320.

Mr Key broke his arm in two places when he fell from the stage at a Chinese New Year function in Auckland last month.

He announced he would sell the cast on Trade Me after Kiwi police posted to the regional assistance mission in the Solomon Islands suggested he auction it to raise cash for a local charity.

The proceeds will go to the Fred Hollows Foundation, which works in blindness prevention. It estimates there are 5000 blind people in the Solomons and another 15,000 who suffer poor vision from cataracts or lack of spectacles.

Mr Rudd and other Pacific Islands Forum leaders signed the cast at last week's summit in Port Moresby, and Mr Key has promised to sign it before it is removed in two weeks.

He will also hold morning tea for the winning bidder, provided his schedule allows.

The auction closes on Sunday.

- © Fairfax NZ News