Mitsubishi Motors New Zealand (MMNZ) and Taskforce Kiwi have formalised a partnership that will see the latter receive loaner vehicles for disaster relief during damaging events such as the one caused by Cyclone Gabrielle from earlier this year.
Formalised partnership
MMNZ will reportedly supply the veteran-led not-for-profit organisation with three Mitsubishi Triton utes to assist in community projects in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
With the partnership now formalised, Taskforce Kiwi will gain access to three long-term loan vehicles for day-to-day operations and emergency disaster relief, with additional vehicles on hold if requried.
“It means a lot to our organisation,” said Richard Adams, National Director of Taskforce Kiwi. “We’ll use them to help with volunteer training and community engagement, as well as disaster response when needed.”
Since its founding in mid-2022, Taskforce Kiwi and its tireless volunteers composed of defence force veterans, police and emergency services, and regular citizens, have come together to aid New Zealand communities that need them most.
These volunteers collaborate with emergency management agencies, local government, and community organisations to provide natural disaster relief from natural disasters such as Cyclone Gabrielle.
According to the organisation, it has deployed 222 volunteers in response to six events in New Zealand as well as Australia and Canada. Its members have logged an impressive total of 6,888 volunteer hours.
In February 2023, Taskforce Kiwi set out to assist Cyclone Gabrielle victims with 165 volunteers in tow. It deployed members to facilitate debris clearance, missing person searches, needs assessments, and aid coordination.
Mitsubishi Triton: capable off-road ute
Of course, Taskforce Kiwi required a capable, go-anywhere vehicle to supplement its relief operations. That's why Adams quickly reached out to MMNZ to inquire for help.
“I’d worked with a similar organisation across the Tasman, which had a relationship with Mitsubishi Motors Australia.. I managed to arrange contact with MMNZ and they were very quick to get on board," said Adams.
“We had the conversation on a Thursday and by Saturday they had four Triton utes ready and waiting for us... We used the vehicles for ten weeks and they proved vital to our work, enabling us to have a greater impact on the ground, because we could navigate uncertain and dynamic environments that we couldn’t have accessed without them," he added.
Meanwhile, MMNZ was happy to supply Taskforce Kiwi with the help it needed.
“Taskforce Kiwi does an incredible job punching above its weight to help local communities and those in need further afield,” said Warren Brown, Chief Executive at MMNZ. “It embodies those great Kiwi traditions of volunteering, teamwork and endeavour. As a people-focused business, we recognised this was a perfect opportunity to give something back to our local communities."
"In Triton, we had the right vehicle for the task at hand, so it really was a no-brainer from our point of view," Brown concluded.
