New Zealand Unifies Weather Services to Enhance Forecasting and Climate Safety

Legislation to bring New Zealand’s trusted weather forecasting agencies together has passed its first reading, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti and State Owned Enterprises Minister Simeon Brown says.

The Meteorological Services (Acquisition and Policies) Legislation Amendment Bill will enable Earth Sciences New Zealand to formally acquire MetService, bringing together our key meteorological and climate expertise and infrastructure, strengthening New Zealand’s understanding and response to climate and natural hazards, Dr Reti says.

It also aims to remove the fragmentation that occurs through having two government-owned companies in weather forecasting, Mr Brown says.

The Meteorological Services (Acquisition and Policies) Legislation Amendment Bill makes some technical changes to allow Earth Sciences NZ to take on MetService, including: Removing MetService from the State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986.

Amending the Crown Research Institutes Act 1992 to require Earth Sciences NZ to publish its observational weather data access policy.

Exempting the acquisition from Part 3 of the Commerce Act 1986 (Commerce Act) on public policy grounds, on the basis that the public benefits of integration outweigh any theoretical competition concerns. The Commerce Act will, however, continue to apply as normal post-acquisition.

New Zealanders will continue to see MetService’s known and trusted brand reporting on the weather and MetService will remain the country’s internationally authorised meteorologist. This will ensure both continuity and a single, authorised voice for public safety messaging in times of severe weather, Mr Brown says.

Bringing MetService and Earth Sciences New Zealand together means more Kiwis will be able to access clearer insights into our climate, more accurate long-term weather forecasting and faster warnings.

Our scientists will be able to better collaborate and gain access to more infrastructure to collect and analyse weather data – from a broader network of weather stations to Earth Sciences’ new supercomputer.

This Bill is another step in the Government’s wider work to develop a science system that’s more collaborative, more efficient and more future-focused, to support New Zealanders and New Zealand businesses to thrive, says Dr Reti.