More tamariki around the mounga will be buckled up safely with a large donation of car seats thanks to a partnership between Downer and the New Plymouth District Council.

On Thursday morning Downer, with the support of NPDC, handed over 30 car seats to Kidsafe Taranaki, a charitable organisation that provides car seat checks, installation and advice at regular, free clinics all over Taranaki.

NPDC Transportation Manager Rui Leitao said it was great to see the community benefitting from their contract with Downer.

“The partnership has a higher purpose, it’s not all about making money for shareholders. It’s about doing good things in the community too.”

Through the New Plymouth Infrastructure Partnership (NPIP), Downer and NPDC work together on key infrastructure such as roads, parks and reserves, facilities maintenance, 3 Waters and other large projects.

NPIP Contract Manager Steve Chamberlain said its contract means whenever it comes in under budget for the year, the remaining funds are split 50/50.

“Downer committed to donate roughly half of that 50 per cent back to the community in what we call our gain share initiatives.”

In the past these initiatives have included donating bikes to schools, and providing traffic management services to community groups.

“We have certain criteria for these community initiatives and Kidsafe Taranaki was a good fit,” Mr Chamberlain said.

Kidsafe coordinator Hokipera Ruakere-Papuni said it was a generous donation and while it hadn’t yet decided how the car seats would be distributed, it would make a real difference to the families who received them.

“It’s great to have the support of local businesses and council.

“We’re all on the same waka making sure our pepe are safe on the roads.”

Gabrielle Patten, a car seat technician who has been working to keep Taranaki kids safe for 39 years, said car seats were out of reach for some families, and it would be good to have some available to give to those in need.

“It’s brilliant to be able to help people.”

Visit Kidsafe Taranaki’s Facebook page, facebook.com/KidsafeTaranaki for details of its car seat clinics.

Fast Facts

• NPDC is responsible for and maintains 1306km of roads
• We are investing $248 million over the next decade to improve the district’s water network
• We manage around 1,600 hectares of parks and open spaces.

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