“New Coinage Troubles Can Be Avoided”

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30998, 2 March 1966, Page 1

“New Coinage Troubles Can Be Avoided”

(New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, March 1. The cash register is the place where New Zealanders will judge the efficiency of the change to decimal currency, Mr C. T. Cooch. treasurer to the Wellington City Council, said in Auckland today.

Mr Cooch said lectures and discussions were not enough—pract ic a 1 training would prove invaluable.

He and Mr G. E. Sheehan, cost accountant to the. Wellington City Council, were addressing delegates to the conference of the New Zealand Institute of Town Clerks and Municipal Treasurers at the Auckland Town Hall.

Both men returned from Australia this week after studying the change to the new currency.

Mr Cooch said he had not realised until he visited Australia that planning to meet the problems of transition meant planning a major systems change. ' He strongly advised those who had not yet begun planning to begin at once and to make a thorough job of it. There was an urgent need to train staff as soon as possible. Cashiers would need more intensive training than others. He said that, as far as local bodies were concerned, a little delay in sending out rate notices could save a lot of work through altering and | converting amounts into dollars.

Mental Black-outs

In early training sessions some Australian staff experienced mental blackouts and most found it took longer to work in decimals at first. The Australian Post Office discovered that people were using two cent coins to work public telephones and quickly altered the equipment to prevent this happening, said Mr Cooch. Then the public found out that one cent coins would I fit the modified slots. I Mr Sheehan said each organisation would be required to carry out its own training. The Australians had discovered that wherever training was not carried out | there was widespread chaos and misunderstanding. “Decimal Mentality”

One shopkeeper had closed his premises because he had insufficient knowledge of decimals and another asked for his decimal machine to be changed back to pounds, shillings and pence. It was essential to get the decimal mentality as soon as possible ias decimals were difficult to ‘handle without practice. Those people who thought in decimals handled the new coinage without trouble, said Mr Sheehan. The others were [merely postponing the change

and creating chaos in their own minds and in the minds of those people endeavouring to make the change. It appeared that the Australian banks had closed too early in preparation for the change, he said. After closing on the Wednesday they found they had the whole week-end to spare. Some cashiers were physical wrecks on the day of the change and a lot of energy and power would be expended when the change was made in New Zealand. But it could not be avoided, Mr Sheehan said.