Auckland Mayor Len Brown is promising a city-wide crackdown on drunken behaviour.
The Mayor joined partygoers on the streets of central Auckland in the early hours of this morning to see the situation for himself.
His presence was an attraction to city drunks, with one group mistaking him for his predecessor John Banks, while others wanted to talk politics.
In another encounter, Brown was warned by two partygoers not to venture into a nearby bus stop.
"There's spew all over it," one woman said.
The Auckland Council is joining forces with police to closely monitor the CBD, as a new mayoral taskforce looks at ways to curb problems caused by excessive drinking.
Among the suggested changes are more night buses, increased community patrols and improved security on backstreets.
Brown says he will not "muck around" on the issue.
"It's not my style and we're into it."
Brown said easy access to off-licensed alcohol in the city is one of the issues the taskforce will look at addressing.
Earlier closing hours are also in his sights.
"If we get one uniformed closing hour, that's great. If we can shut down these bottle shops a lot earlier that's great too," Brown said.
The taskforce is also considering instant fines for people caught breaching liquor bans and eliminating the sale of single drinks from off-licence outlets.