Y2K bugs not biting - yet

By Staff Reporters

New Zealand plunged into the unchartered waters of the new millennium at midnight with essential services appearing to be holding together against any Y2K computer glitches.

Power, water telecommunications services including the Internet survived the initial onslaught of the millennium as most eyes turned skyward to watch spectacular fireworks displays in Auckland and Wellington. At 12.05am, Ministry of Emergency Management chief executive John Norton said from the Beehive that utility services and the national power grid appeared to be holding up.

The next two hours after midnight remained critical, however.

Also from his bunker under the Beehive five minutes later, Y2K Readiness Commissioner Basil Logan expressed quietness New Zealand would greet the dawn of the new millennium with most services intact.

Asked what was happening above ground, he said declared: "There's fireworks outside and the lights are on in Wellington.

In Auckland,regional council critical services director Dr Ewen Hutchinson said: "Nothing has happened - sorry, the world has not ended."

Auckland city spokewoman Helen Cook said: "We have no apparent Y2K bugs in the city."

Watercare communications manager Owen Cook everyone went smoothly in Auckland bulk water and wastewater system.

"It clicked over like any other night."

Mr Cook, whos utility supplies a million Aucklanders with water, said there was a certain amount of apprehension as the changeover approached but he was not surprised everything held together after two years of testing. He expected no further problems, but maintenance staff were remaining on standby until about 2am.

"Aucklanders will continue to have water and wastewater services."

With a twitchy glob watching to see how New Zealand coped as the first industrialised country to meet the millennium and possible computer failures crises management centres around the country were preparing for the worst. Expecting massive international traffic on its web sites, the readiness commission had extra security measures in places for its site, mirroring it in Washington to cope up to 700,000 "hits" at once.

The commission was confident most essential services would hold together, after the country spent up to $1 billion future-proofing its computer systems against any failure to recognise the century date change. But it has acknowledged throughout the millennium countdown there could be no guarantees against unforeseen glitches, with potential to cause disruptions.

Mr Logan said he was impressed at the level of contingency planning by major businesses and organisations "and the number of people on duty checkling systems as they cross over, being on hand for service queries and of course all the emergency services."

The Civil Aviation Authority reported no problems, with Qantas QF1010 bound for Los Angeles - the only international flight out of Auckland around midnight - taking off successfully.

Ports of Auckland also reported the all clear after midnight.

Banks recorded a "significant milestone" as early as 3.30pm, when ATM withdrawals started to show January 1 transactions after the close of business.

Bank of New Zealand spokeswoman Sarah Hensley said an expected last-minute rush for cash failed to materialise.

Business on New Year's Eve had been very quiet, with "no excessive" cash withdrawals.

This came as a relief to the Reserve Bank, which had $6 billion cash in supply - almost twice its normal stockpile - after holding on to old paper banknotes while switching to plastic.

The Reserve Bank had been concerned about maintaining confidence in the banking system, had everybody taken out their life savings at once.

Supermarkets did, however, report late runs on canned goods, torches and batteries as the readiness commission's long-trumpeted advice to prepare for up to three days' of disrupted services hit home.

Petrol stations did brisk business as motorists filled up and queues formed for gas cooking cyclinders in case of power cuts.

While much of the focus has been on trying to keep essential services ticking over past midnight, Y2K problems are expected to take longer to show up in businesses which have shut down for the holidays. All eyes were on the key electricity sector, which spent more then $100 million in more than two years preparing for the year 2000 rollover.

Its work showed up only 3 per cent of equipment was vulnerable to the Y2K bug, but Transpower nevertheless had a fleet of helicopters on standby throughout the nation last night to reach any substation that might fail. The telecommunications sector, having spent up to $150 million shoring itself up, was more concerned about overloading by New Year's wellwishers than millennium bugs.