Philip Duncan is emotional and exhausted.
After more than five years of battling politicians, regulators and anyone who will listen over the state of New Zealand's weather forecasting, he is almost ready to admit defeat.
As the founder and chief executive of New Zealand's largest and most successful private forecaster, Weather Watch, Duncan would love to give the government's own forecasters, MetService and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa), a run for their money. The weather, he believes, is so important to our lives that top-quality forecasting is vital.
In other countries, such as Australia, the UK and the US, this means that competition is encouraged, and much public data about the weather - or even all of it - is provided to private forecasters for free (see graphic page 24). But not in New Zealand.
"The government here blocks innovation from the private weather sector," he says. "So we have the public demanding weather forecasters do better, but the government acting like it doesn't care."
The crux of the issue is that private forecasters can't afford to compete with government infrastructure and build their own network, says Duncan. "That's like saying, if someone sets up a new factory, and the state-owned power company didn't support them, then they should go and build a hydro-electric dam to power the factory. Nowhere on Earth has any private forecaster had to do that. To build our own radar network and observations network would cost us tens of millions of dollars."
Denne historien er fra August 27 - September 2, 2022-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
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Denne historien er fra August 27 - September 2, 2022-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.