Tauranga's Mayor is confident a bylaw to ban begging and rough sleeping has the support of the public.

The council's narrowly voted to outlaw homeless people sitting near shops and eateries in the city's CBD.

It went through six to five.

But people who work with homeless say it just pushes rough sleepers into the shadows and are questioning how much we care about our most vulnerable people.

Mayor Greg Brownless told Mike Hosking begging has hurt retailers by driving business away.

He says shoppers feel uncomfortable with the presence of homeless people.

LISTEN ABOVE AS GREG BROWNLESS SPEAKS WITH MIKE HOKSING