NO HALF-CENT BUT HALFPENNY WILL DO

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30631, 23 December 1964, Page 1

NO HALF-CENT BUT HALFPENNY WILL DO

(Neu? Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, December 22.

The Government has decided no half-cent coins will he provided in the decimal currency system to he introduced in July, 1967.

Announcing this today, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister of Finance (Mr Muldoon) said it had been decided the present half-penny would be allowed to continue in circulation as a half-cent until it was no longer required.

Mr Muldoon said the Decimal Currency Board had obtained the views of a large number of representative organisations—including women’s groups.

“It was clear a large majority of the organisations considered the halfpenny a nuisance and were opposed to the half-cent because it w’ould be as valueless as the halfpenny, which had no purchasing power in itself. SOME IN FAVOUR “Those few organisations favouring the half-cent do so on the basis it would provide fine price shading on conversion of pounds, shillings and pence to decimal prices,” said Mr Muldoon. “There is a fear that retailers will tend to price upwards to the nearest whole cent —but I can assure the public this point will be watched carefully by the Government and the Decimal Currency Board,” he said.

“The board will issue pence-to-cents conversion tables which will offset overs and unders so there will be

no loss to the public at all,” he said.

Mr Muldoon said the purpose in allowing the halfpenny to continue in circulaiion was merely to ease the transitional problem of changing over from pounds, shillings and pence prices to decimal prices. “The halfpenny will also act as a half-cent for change for a threepenny piece—which will be two and a half cents in decimal. “Neither coin will be minted after 1966,” he said. Mr Muldoon said some re-

arrangement in items of small cost but large turnover —such as transport fares, milk, newspapers and postages—would be necessary.

“Elimination of fractional value coins will also ensure we shall be able to use standard decimal machines such as cash registers and adding machines.

“Very few countries in the world have fractional value coins,” he said. Mr Muldoon said most of the countries not using fractional value coin* were almost entirely countries still using a 20s system.

“Banks and accountants have refused to take the halfpenny into account for years,” he said.

“The savings in this field will be very great,” said Mr Muldoon.