N.Z. Will Adopt Metric System

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31922, 25 February 1969, Page 28

N.Z. Will Adopt Metric System

(New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, February 24. A start should be made as soon as possible by New Zealand to adopt the metric weights and measures, says the first report of the working committee of officials set up by the Government a year ago.

Commenting on the report today, the Minister of Industries and Commerce (Mr Marshall) said: “The Government has accepted in principle that New Zealand will sooner or later adopt the system.”

The committee, inquiring into and reporting on the adoption of the system by New Zealand, is required to report periodically to the Government as the change to metric systems of measurement proceeds.

“Conversion to the metric system is a logical step for New Zealand as the world is moving rapidly towards metrication—l 26 countries containing about 90 per.cent of the world’s population are now using the metric system" Mr Marshall said.

Action now being taken on metrication in Britain and Australia was of particular significance for New Zealand. Britain planned to be fully metric by the end of 1975 and in some industrial sectors metrication was already well under way.

In Australia a special Parliamentary committee had recently strongly recommended that the metric system be adopted. Metrication was under way in South Africa; India and Japan were now running almost completely under the metric system. In the United States, Congress recently authorised an

official inquiry into the metric system with the implication of an ultimate conversion to it, the Minister said. “As our principal trading partners are converting to the metric system New Zealand will suffer some inconvenience if it does not keep in step." Mr Marshall said. Informed opinion in New Zealand was favourable to the change, and many professional and trade bodies had passed resolutions in favour of metrication. “Government accepts the necessity of assisting metrication in New Zealand, and to this end it accepts the recommendation of the officials that a representati"e advisory board be set up to encourage, assist and advise on the progressive voluntary adoption within New Zealand of the metric system.”

! Gradual Change Mr Marshall said that the metric change in Britain would affect New Zealand progressively, and should set the pace of change here. He emphasised that considerable planning and co-ordin-ation would be required so that each sector, as it became ready to do so, moved to the new system gradually and in

line with related sectors of the economy. Conversion could not be achieved in one step as was the case with decimal currency. The changes to be made were many and varied and would take many years to effect, Mr Marshall said. Special Committees Individual sectors—for example. manufacturing, agriculture, retailing, land measurement. transport—would best be able to plan their own programmes for metrication through special sector committees established from their own members. These sector groups could determine their timing depending on their individual problems, but bearing in mind the over-all national timetable which would be the responsibility of the advisory board and the Government. No Compensation 1 “There is no suggestion of any crash programme of I change. The entire process is seen to be gradual, voluntary 'and co-operative, with timing to secure maximum benefit at least cost,” said Mr Marshall. “Metric conversion will have long-term benefits but there will also be some costs,” says the committee’s report. But because many costs would be intangible, hard to assess, and vary greatly, the committee did not see any case for the payment of compensation “The Standards Association of New Zealand metric advisory committee felt that the overseas precedent of no compensation might well be followed. “However, it thought that

the time of metrication would Ibe a suitable one for intro>ducing any special forms of

I assistance to industrialists intended to encourage technological advances.”