U.K. Observer Of Change

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31416, 8 July 1967, Page 12

U.K. Observer Of Change

One of the keenest observers of the change to decimal currency in New Zealand on Monday will be the chairman of the British Decimal Currency Board (Sir William Fiske).

“I will be riding on a bus in Wellington, watching what happens, and, I hope, doing some shopping myself.in the new currency,” he said in Christchurch yesterday. “Certainly in Wellington there is a sense of excitement and people are taking a great interest in the change,” said Sir William Fiske. Monday would be the great test of the effectiveness of the public education programme. He would be watching to see whether traffic would jam up because even a slight delay in the change-giving pro-

cess could slow it. This could extend over shopping and a whole range of operations. Sir William Fiske is in New Zealand to observe the change to decimal currency because of Britain’s decision to change to a decimal system in 1971.

Questioned on the proposed retention of the pound, he said that the size of the task had to be considered. Conversion would be much easier because there would be no need to carry out a whole new note issue.

The preservation of the sterling area was important too. It was felt that the pound should be preserved because its replacement might be looked on as a devaluation of sterling and its possible replacement by another currency. The pound would be an “anchor point” and there would not be the difficulties of two currencies, as in New Zealand. There was no great resis-

tance to the change to a decimal system, although there had been considerable debate over whether to adopt £1 or 10s as the basic unit, Sir William Fiske said.

Most people saw the change as inevitable, and if Britain did not change she would “stand out like a sore thumb” in the world. Another difference in England would be that the Government would not pay compensation for machine conversion.

Asked about a fear that prices of commodities might rise with a currency change, Sir William Fiske said this would be closely watched in Britain, but there were a number of safeguards. “We have a number of active women’s organisations and also a properly constituted Consumer Council which will guard against abuses of this sort and protect the interests of the individual,” he said. Some prices would undoubtedly go up, and some would come down. He considered that the change would be achieved quickly in New Zealand as soon as people were paid in decimal currency and they no longer had any £ s d, except that which they received in change. “I would be very surprised if the change is not very successful,” Sir William Fiske said.