A total of 150 Monaros, Commodores, Rodeos and other Holdens with a retail value of more than $5 million have been shipped to New Zealand to become scrap metal in the name of emergency safety.

The cars will be crushed and wrapped around poles this October as part of the 2005 World Rescue Challenge, allowing participants to showcase their emergency skills in front and side impact crash simulations and overturned vehicles.

The Holden vehicles, previously used for engineering evaluation and not for public sale, will be damaged to recreate road accidents and provide hypothetical crisis situations.

Teams from Australia and New Zealand will compete in the rescue events at the Challenge, as well as learning new skills by observing their fellow volunteers in action.

The first 85 of a total of 150 Holden vehicles have been shipped from Australia for the Challenge, with the remaining vehicles due to arrive before the Challenge takes place in Hamilton, New Zealand, from 8th-11th October.

GM Holden Executive Director - Engineering, Tony Hyde, said today he was delighted to extend the company's support for the emergency organisations, which stretched over seven years and over 300 vehicles for training.

"Since 1998, GM Holden has provided the State Emergency Service (SES) with a wide range of vehicles for use in team training exercises such as 'jaws of life' simulations," Mr Hyde said.

"Supporting the SES is a meaningful way for GM Holden to demonstrate our commitment to safety and assist an organisation which helps so many Australians every year."

SES spokesman, Peter Cocks, said the event was all about saving lives. "The ability for SES volunteers to develop their road rescue skills on modern vehicles helps to raise the overall standard of road rescue training and that means more lives saved. It's that simple. Holden should be congratulated on this extraordinary community service."

Organisations participating in the event include the State Emergency Service (SES), World Rescue Organisation (WRO), the Australian Road Rescue Organisation (ARRO), the United Fire Brigade Association and the New Zealand Fire Service.

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