Latest / Best of Business / Carolyn Young: Retail NZ chief executive on Wellington businesses calling for the council to reconsider Golden Mile project

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Carolyn Young: Retail NZ chief executive on Wellington businesses calling for the council to reconsider Golden Mile project · Best of Business

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  Speaker 2: Now listen in Wellington. The opposition against the constant roadworks
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  Speaker 2: has just gone up a notch. Retail New Zealand, Hospitality
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  Speaker 2: New Zealand and the Bus and Coach Association have banded
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  Speaker 2: together the calling on the Council to stop the plans
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  Speaker 2: to develop the Golden Mile. Carolyn Young is the chief
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  Speaker 2: executive at Retail New Zealand. Hey Carolyn, how's it going good?
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  Speaker 2: Thank you?
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  Speaker 3: Now?
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  Speaker 2: Is this because Tory was on the radio here on
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  Speaker 2: Newstalk Z'DB this morning and said it's a bottom line,
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  Speaker 2: the Golden Mile.
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  Speaker 3: No, it's not. We were talking about this last week.
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  Speaker 3: You obviously there's a lot of in the media last
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  Speaker 3: week and of course the vote around the airport Shears
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  Speaker 3: was taken on Tuesday and we felt it's a really
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  Speaker 3: good opportunity for us to reiterate the need to take stock,
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  Speaker 3: have a pause and consult cold around what is the
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  Speaker 3: right thing we need so we go forward.
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  Speaker 2: When you heard her say this morning, then it's like
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  Speaker 2: nothing else is the bottom line, but Golden Mile is
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  Speaker 2: a bottom line. How did you feel.
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  Speaker 3: We're pretty disappointed really because we know that the issues
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  Speaker 3: around Thorn and Key are significant, that businesses have really struggled,
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  Speaker 3: and businesses are closing now taking the opportunity right now
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  Speaker 3: to sit down and find out how this could be
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  Speaker 3: done better and understanding the environment that businesses are trading
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  Speaker 3: and right now it's an extremely difficult trading environment. Businesses
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  Speaker 3: are struggling anyway. And then when you've got you know,
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  Speaker 3: hundreds of meters of road cones and fences up in
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  Speaker 3: front of your entrance, people don't know if you're open
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  Speaker 3: or not open, there's no where to park, they're not
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  Speaker 3: coming through, and all of the businesses down Thorne and
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  Speaker 3: Key have really struggled. So it's really an opportunity to
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  Speaker 3: stop and think, how could we do this better, and
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  Speaker 3: what parts of Thorn and Key do we need to
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  Speaker 3: complete as through the plan and what would be better
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  Speaker 3: to think a little bit differently, and then thinking about
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  Speaker 3: Courtney Place, you know, actually do a little bit more
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  Speaker 3: consultation with businesses. Don't rush in try and get it
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  Speaker 3: started early. Let's take our time.
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  Speaker 2: Understanding your problem is you're a real person operating in
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  Speaker 2: the real world. They're not what they haven't listened to you, Carolyn,
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  Speaker 2: until now, why are they going to listen to you?
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  Speaker 3: Well, all we can do this. So there's three business associations,
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  Speaker 3: so Hospitality in New Zealand, Retail and New Zealand, and
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  Speaker 3: the Bust and Approach Association. We're an agreement that more
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  Speaker 3: needs to be done.
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  Speaker 2: So basically, are you going to make them listen to
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  Speaker 2: you by just harping at them? Well, putting pressure.
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  Speaker 3: We're hoping that we well, we have regular meetings with
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  Speaker 3: the council and we give them regular feedback and I'm
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  Speaker 3: not sure that we're being listening to. So, you know,
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  Speaker 3: getting out and getting a bit more forward thinking, a
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  Speaker 3: bit more media in front of it. Hopefully you'll get
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  Speaker 3: a little bit more traction.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, good, good luck. I really hope you guys actually
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  Speaker 2: succeed with this. It seems like a really stupid idea.
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  Speaker 2: Carolyn Young, Chief executive at Retail New Zealand.
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