Auckland, for example, had 40 telephone exchanges, and the telephone directory had 500 pages to search through to find the right number,[5][6] although the separate emergency numbers for fire, police and ambulance in the main service area (e.g. Auckland, but not for not minor exchanges) were listed in bold on the first page.
Familiar with Britain’s 999 system, he campaigned for the setting up of a universal emergency telephone number across the country.
In the early years of 111, exchanges primarily used British-built step-by-step equipment, except for this unusual orientation.
A similar arrangement was employed at the police station, while at the hospital the call went to the local switchboard where it was identified by a red light and a distinctive bell.
The first hoax call also occurred on the first day – a caller dialled 111 to ask for the address of a Carterton hotel.
The service was introduced in Wellington in April 1961,[10] where the multi-exchange area included some pre-war Rotary exchanges.
The dates of installation in major towns and cities were: In New Zealand in 2004, the police answering of emergency telephone service came under sustained scrutiny for systemic problems.
A case that caused particular concern was the disappearance of Iraena Asher, who vanished in October 2004 after she rang the police in distress and was instead sent a taxi that went to the wrong address.
In February 2024, documents from the New Zealand Police showed that the 111 service was outdated and was causing deaths and injuries.
A police spokesperson said, “The public may not receive timely help when they need it, and frontline responders could find themselves attending dangerous incidents without pertinent situational information and without adequate support.” Even with the emergency system failing 59 times in just 2021 and 2022 alone, the New Zealand Government refused to pay the $60 million [NZD] to replace the aging system.
All location data is only to be held for 60 minutes and is then deleted to comply with the regulated conditions of use[32] of ECLI as set by the NZ Privacy Commissioner.
[35][36] The contact code was required to be created by 1 January 2022 under the Telecommunications (New Regulatory Framework) Amendment Act.
It was created due to a shift towards fibre and wireless communications which require power sources.
The code requires that telecommunications service providers tell their customers at least once a year that they can not call 111 during a power cut.
[35] In April 2024 the Commerce Commission brought One NZ to the High Court for allegedly breaching the code.