Viv Beck: Heart of the City CEO discusses new safety plan for central Auckland.

A new plan to make Auckland safer is being welcomed by the city's main business association. 

Today Auckland Minister Simeon Brown and Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown unveiled their action plan - including boosting outreach teams to connect rough sleepers with support, and a review of bylaws. 

Heart of the City CEO Viv Beck told Heather du-Plessis Allan that the plan is broad. 

She says it picks up things businesses have been crying out for, and while the proof's in the pudding, businesses have got their point across. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now it's a couple of bits of big news for Auckland.

(00:02):
Number One, the government has announced a plan to clean
up the city. Number Two, the CRL, the train set
underneath the city, has now confirmed is opening at the
end of next year. Viv Beck is the heart of
the city CEO and with us now, hey, Viv hello,
is end of next year? What we were expecting?

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Oh gosh, Well, we always hoped it would be earlier.
I had sort of come to a view that it
was going to be around I hoped around the midyear.
The biggest issue is the uncertainty for these poor businesses
that have been affected for a decade and that's a
very long time still for them to carry on. And
obviously we want to get moving so people can get

(00:40):
in here easier and faster. So on the one hand,
it's good to have some sort of indication of when
it's going to be, but I think there'll be people
pretty disappointed it so far away.

Speaker 1 (00:50):
Okay, viv on this tidy up of the city. What
is actually going to happen yet? We haven't got you know,
move on orders or anything. What's actually changing.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
Well, many of the things we've been asking for have
come to pass here. So we've wanted to have a
cross agency approach to deal with both the social issues
and sort of the economic issues, and we've wanted it
to be at a very senior level, recognizing the importance
coming out of this decade of disruption that we really

(01:21):
need to move into twenty twenty six in a very
good place. And I think we've got that. It is
a sort of multifaceted thing. It picks up on the
social needs, the people crying out for laws and by
laws to be enforced. They want to see a focus
on cleaning and presentation, so it actually picks up quite

(01:41):
a lot of the things that we've been asking for
and that businesses have been crying out for. The proof
will be in the pudding, but there is a determination.
We've definitely got the point across that we need to have.
This has to be a game changer. We've got to
have change this side of Christmas so that we go
into the opening of the Convention Center in a good place.

Speaker 1 (02:02):
Viv thanks very much. Look after yourself with Beck Heart
of the City CEO.

Speaker 2 (02:06):
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