Viv Beck: Heart of the City CEO calls for Auckland workers to return to the city's CBD

Heart of the City is urging Auckland Council to follow the Wellington's lead on cracking down on people working from home.

Public Service bosses are being told to manage staff working out of office as an agreement - not an entitlement.

Heart of the City CEO Viv Beck says council workers are only required to come to the office three days a week.

She says getting them back in the city is what the CBD needs.

"There's no point waiting for the CRL and expecting 54,000 people to pop out every hour. We've actually got to keep the place alive and vibrant - and this is one way that would make a difference."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now the government's pushed to get the public servants back
into offices and Wellington is catching on. Half the city
Chief executive in Auckland, Verbeck, says Auckland Council should lead
by example. The council, however, of course, says it has
no intention to do that. Verve Becka's with us. Now, Hey,
viv hello, how much of a difference would it make
if the Auckland Council workers were actually back in the city.

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Well, overall, we're about thirty thousand people down in the
morning peak on weekdays day. That's a lot of people, yes,
every day if you look before COVID and some of
that is all the construction and some of it is
COVID and working from Hume. And obviously Auckland Council can't
single handedly change that. And I do understand one size

(00:44):
doesn't fit all, but I am thinking this is a
good initiative to tighten those working from home policies. And
really I'm saying to council there's an opportunity to take
a lead here.

Speaker 1 (00:54):
What proportion of the inner city workforce is thirty thousand.

Speaker 2 (01:02):
Well, put it this way, we're about that's about We're
about thirty percent down.

Speaker 1 (01:09):
Wow, Okay, that's really significant. So this will be this
will be felt by basically the same story as as
in Wellington, by the hosper guys and the retail guys
and so on, they will notice.

Speaker 2 (01:20):
Yea, yeah it does. Yeah. And this also just has
that effect on the vibrancy of the place. You know,
it just feels better when there are more people around.
I mean, we're fortunate we get tourists, we've got people
living here, we have events. But that's a big So
that's a foot traffic. But in terms of the peak,
that morning peak, you know, that's that's around twenty percent

(01:42):
fewer than we had before. But in terms of foot traffic,
we're actually thirty percent down. So you know, the reality
is it's a significant impact. And you know, I understand
flexibility is around, and I mean I implemented flexibility in
a business many years ago and people said you couldn't
do it. But the real is we have got a
significant shortfull of people and it's quite some way off

(02:05):
before the CRL opens. And what we've been saying to
counsel and to be fair, we're getting a fair hearing
and basically saying to them that we need to do
everything we can to get people back here because there's
no point waiting for the CRL and expecting fifty four
thousand people to pop out every hour. We've actually got
to keep the place alive and vibrant, and this is
one way that would make a difference. So I'm really

(02:26):
just asking them to reassess their policy.

Speaker 1 (02:29):
You have a good relationship with Wayne Brown, because I
mean it's one thing for Auckland Council to say, naw,
they're not going to do it, because I mean, this
is exactly what you expect from bureaucrats. But Waine might
be able to whip them into shape.

Speaker 2 (02:39):
Yeah, so that's another conversation I can have. But you
to be a fair right, No, to be fair. I've
got a good hearing from the mayor and counselors, and
I have had to from the chief executive around the
importance of getting people back into the central city and
you know some of the things that happen right now
that are deterrents I'm asking them to change.

Speaker 1 (03:01):
How can you say you had a fair hearing when
like day two of this they came out and they go.

Speaker 2 (03:07):
No, no, no, no, not on this What I'm saying is
I presented to them some weeks ago and raised these points,
got a fair hearing, and I'm just continuing to remind
them that this matters absolutely.

Speaker 1 (03:18):
The best of luck with it. I really appreciate your time.
That's VIVBC Heart of the City Chief Executive. Yet I mean,
just how much is how much? Is Auckland Council just
basically another version of the bloated the blob in Wellington.
Auckland Council says it has no intention of changing its
policy which requires staff members to work only three days
a week in person. All right for some, isn't it.
I tell you what ratepayers are paying those people's bills.

(03:39):
If we can slap our butts into the office three
days a week, five days a week, sorry, and fight
the buses and the trains and the commuter traffic, and
we can find childcare for our children if we can
do it five days a week. Frankly, you can too.
Stop being lazy.

Speaker 2 (03:55):
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