Ken coming back with message for new year

By EUGENE BINGHAM

So we all survived Y2K - but what about Ken the Cockroach?

That other millennium bug that appeared in advertisements urging us to be ready for computer-generated chaos has not been seen since the dying days of the last century.

But fear not, says the Y2K Readiness Commission: Ken made it too.

"Oh, yes, he'll be back for sure," commission director Clare Pinder said last night.

While coy about details, she said Ken would make his return from hibernation in a series of advertisements starting on Wednesday.

"He will have a post-New Year's message, and it's pretty special."

Commission staff are delighted with the work the cockroach did, pointing to figures that 80 per cent of householders had prepared Y2K kits.

"He has been incredibly successful in getting the message across to New Zealanders that it was a practical and sensible thing to do," said Ms Pinder.

The commission, meanwhile, is encouraging householders to stay prepared.

"I urge them to maintain their kits just in case," said chairman Basil Logan.

"We still have a way to go and two other key times will be January 5, when businesses resume, and leap day on February 29."

Householders and businesses would be wise to keep their contingency plans at the ready anyway, in case of any other emergencies, he said.

The director of the Ministry for Emergency Management, John Norton, said he hoped Ken's legacy would be a country better prepared for disasters.

"We must remember that, unlike Y2K, most emergencies, such as earthquakes and floods, occur without much warning."