Government to review weather forecasting systems, shaking MetService-Niwa rivalry

State Owned Enterprises Minister Duncan Webb. Photo / Mark Mitchell

By RNZ

The government has announced it will review weather forecasting, potentially shaking up a long-running rivalry between MetService and Niwa.

In a statement, State Owned Enterprises Minister Duncan Webb confirmed Treasury and the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) would begin the review from September, returning a final report in February 2024.

He said MetService and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) - which are both state-owned - were critical agencies in weather forecasting.

The review would focus on improving the system, taking climate change and infrastructure into account.

“A connected weather forecasting system that is integrated with our understanding of flooding impacts on communities and our nation’s infrastructure is essential,” he said.

“Our systems should reflect the interrelationship between climate science, forecasting, hydrology, and coastal hazards to help us better plan for, and respond to weather events.”

Webb told Checkpoint the government wanted future-ready organisations that not only provided weather forecasting systems but robust climate science as well.

“We think there’s improvements that can be made given that our weather is changing and the way it is forecasted and measured is changing as well.”

Both organisations had done a good job to date, however, both recognised the need to collaborate more.

With one being a Crown research entity and the other a state-owned enterprise, under competition law it had become “trickier” for them to share information or agree on areas where they would not compete.

“We want to have a look and see if we have got something that makes sense... We really want to crack into this and make sure that whatever comes out the other end of this review is really robust, has the best science, has the best people in it and is doing the best job for New Zealand.”

Webb agreed there were tensions in the current relationship bteween the two organisations but it was an exaggeration to describe it as “toxic”.

Asked which body people should turn to in a weather emergency, he said one of MetService’s core goals was to supply forecasts to bodies such as the National Emergency Management Agency and other government agencies.

The Government did not want any confusion during weather emergencies so that would be an important aspect for the review to consider.

If it recommended a merger of the two, the Government would study it and possibly go down that road, Webb said.

The system has been reviewed numerous times. In 2006, an independent panel recommended merging the two organisations, but ministers rejected the advice.

MetService is a state-owned enterprise largely focused on providing weather forecasting and analysis, including to businesses, transport, and infrastructure sectors.

Niwa is a Crown Research Institute that carries out scientific research aimed at sustainable environmental, atmospheric and aquatic resource management including increasing knowledge and understanding of climate and the atmosphere.

- RNZ