As we noted (CI No 3,364), companies and governments of the world are finally standing up and admitting the scale of their Year 2000 problems, in a bid to fire up everyone that has not already started, to get fixing their computer systems, and Australia has been particularly honest about the potential impact of the problem. Graeme Inchley, the chief executive of the Australian Government’s Year 2000 initiative, has warned that there is not enough time to fix the nation’s Y2K problems. He has also suggested that the severity of the situation may propel Australia into an economic recession. Inchley says there are parts of Government that will definitely not be compliant by January 1, 2000, and the best case scenario is one where the most critical systems are fixed in time. Stop-gap measures will be needed to support less important operations. The outlook for small business is also bleak, according to the Y2K boss, and big businesses will have to move very smartly to avoid disaster – those who do not already have programs in place are too late. It only takes 10% of Australia’s small businesses to fold at one time to bring on a recession, Inchley has told the Australian Financial Review, adding, There is a strong possibility that the figure will be much greater than 10%. We’re not just talking recession but major economic meltdown. In the next three months, Inchley expects to name industries that will not be ready for the year 2000.
