With many staff concerned about safety due to increasing "intimidation" in the streets surrounding central Auckland, Statistics New Zealand plans to move out of its downtown office by the end of the year.
The Bureau of Statistics' office, located at 80 Greys Avenue in downtown Auckland, has now confirmed that the lease will not be renewed after it expires at the end of the year.
Due to the lack of security, the Bureau of Statistics hired a security guard for the building and allowed employees to work remotely "if they don't feel right."
Emma Jones, head of technical, operational and commercial at the Bureau of Statistics, told employees that safety and comfort at work is a top priority, and she herself is aware of the increasing number of cases in her neighborhood (such as anti-social behaviour such as harassment by drunk people or rude yelling).
"Sometimes when I go out for a piece of sushi at noon, I feel uncomfortable."
At the same time, telecom operator One NZ (formerly Vodafone) has been evacuated due to security issues in the city centre, which announced last week that it had closed its downtown store in Britomart.
For the first time, One NZ executives also spoke publicly about the violence and assaults faced by store employees across the country, saying that every week customers hit people and even entered stores with knives.
Commenting on the current downtown, Auckland Deputy Mayor Desley Simpson confirmed that many people have expressed concerns about law and order to her, and she has written to the Minister of Police and the Minister of Mental Health.
In response, Viv Beck, chairman of the Heart of City, an Auckland business association, called on councils to allocate more funds to support their own security team and reopen the Auckland Central Police Department.
Chlöe Swarbrick, a councillor for Auckland's central constituency, believes the government needs to tackle poverty in order to get rid of crime at its roots, and says he works with the police every day to solve the law and order problem in the city centre.
But netizens obviously didn't buy her statement, and the replies with the highest number of likes were as follows:
"Chlöe Swarbrick knows that the people who are roaming K Road and Greys Ave have food and shelter, the problem is drugs and mental health issues, and it has nothing to do with poverty, and what Chlöe Swarbrick should do is to reopen institutions like Kingseat."
"It's obviously a drug problem, why do you always call it a psychological problem, if they can't quit on their own, then let the society help them, lock them up and can't get drugs and receive treatment."
"When the mob took over the CBD, Auckland was like the Third World, and it was all planted by the justice system over the last 20 years, and it was clear that no judges came out to buy lunch when the court was adjourned."
Police revealed that retail crime is currently costing New Zealand businesses a year worth of $1 billion and has a "significant personal impact on those working in the industry".
Former Prime Minister of New Zealand in U.S. lawsuit
Former New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has been caught up in a class action lawsuit accusing him of insider trading.
The directors and managers of Palo Alto Network, a California-based, multibillion-dollar cybersecurity company, are being sued by shareholders.
Twelve individuals, including John Key, were accused of selling a large number of shares and making false and misleading statements about the company's products.
The alleged misconduct allegedly occurred between August 18, 2023, and February 20 of this year, with John Key selling 2,297 PAN shares worth $709,175 on December 18, CEO Nikesh Arora selling more than $159 million in shares, and founder Nir Zuk selling 108,000 shares for a profit of nearly $33.2 million.
In response, John Key said: "I, along with other directors of Palo Alto Networks, have been involved in a series of 'follow-up' lawsuits filed by three shareholders over unsubstantiated allegations in the company's second-quarter earnings update.
"In the U.S., where such lawsuits are common, so the case has received almost no media coverage overseas, and in my opinion, these allegations are baseless."
He said he would not comment further as the matter could go to court.