Northern Communications Centre relocation – a step closer

Our Northern Communication Centre’s move to a new building came a step closer on Friday 7 August with the official naming and blessing of 482 Great South Road Otahuhu, Auckland. 

The building – Piki Ki Te Ao which is owned by New Zealand Police – was officially named by the Hon. Stuart Nash, Minister of Police and Kaumātua from Waikato Tainui and Ngāti Whātua Iwi. 

Northern Communications Centre Manager Peter Stevenson said Piki Ki Te Ao translates as 'the aspiration of diversity, the coming together of communities'. 

“It encourages us to combine our diversity of thought for the betterment of our communities. This is very appropriate given the ongoing relationship between New Zealand Police and Fire and Emergency New Zealand. This close relationship has been built over the past 22 years while the two communications centres have worked together in their current location at 159 Great North Road. 

Peter said all NorthCom people visited the new Centre in July and August and the overwhelming feeling was one of excitement and delight at what the new Centre will offer.

 “I am looking forward to moving to a bright new ‘expansive’ space, with a view of treetops. Our area is well laid out with so much more space than we have had before. I look forward to having some space to call our own with having a Fire and Emergency New Zealand meeting room. The move can’t happen fast enough”. 

Peter said that the new Centre offers opportunities and technology that ‘we could never have dreamed of in the current Centre’. 

“This includes five additional workstations to allow for the increasing workload, along with more desks during major incidents and Multiple Incident Procedures, and provides ComCen with much stronger capability to support CentralCom and SouthCom. We will have access to over 600 safety cameras around Auckland, and 200 safety cameras on the Auckland motorway system to provide improved situational awareness to responding operational crews.” 

NorthCom is scheduled to move into the new building in mid-October. 

For details on the NorthCom Relocation Project, visit the Project Page