The NZ Commerce Commission has finally announced they will be investigating both NIWA and Metservice for possible Anticompetitive behaviour.

The Commerce Commission (ComCom) has been considering WeatherWatch’s complaints about MetService and NIWA for several years now, but things ramped up in 2018 after Minister Megan Woods asked WeatherWatch to “hit reset” with the two commercial Government forecasters. Since that moment both Government outlets have demonstrated behaviour that WeatherWatch believes is clearly highly anticompetitive and shows they pick ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ to work with – as a way for them to powerfully limit competition in the private sector. 

“After reviewing the recent quotes for observational data and rain radar data provided by MetService and NIWA to WeatherWatch, we have decided to open an investigation into the pricing and terms on which competitors can access weather data from MetService and NIWA under sections 27 and/or 36 of the Commerce Act 1986 (the Act)” the Commerce Commission told WeatherWatch.co.nz last week.

WeatherWatch.co.nz has been telling the ComCom and mainstream media outlets that NIWA and MetService pricing was “astronomical” and “too restrictive” for the best part of a decade now.

The Commerce Commission notified both MetService and NIWA last Tuesday of their decision to launch the Anticompetitive Conduct investigation into them.

WeatherWatch.co.nz CEO Philip Duncan says the announcement is a huge relief. “New Zealand’s weather sector is behind the rest of the developed world for no other reason than commercial greed within Government circles – there is no benefit to the greater public for this last century set up. After nearly 10 years of back and forth with the ComCom it is a huge weight off our shoulders to have such a powerful authority recognise that where there is smoke there is likely fire and an investigation needs to happen”.

“This is truly a significant moment not just for WeatherWatch.co.nz defending NZ’s private sector but also we want our Government forecasters to do better as well and for that to happen we all need a fair and even playing field, transparency and honesty – like all other first world nations” says Duncan.

The investigation is expected to take some time due to both NIWA and MetService refusing to share in black and white where their tax funding goes and how it is specifically spent – something WeatherWatch claims is a tactic designed to hide certain behaviours and give these two Agencies unfair power to compete – and often quash – any fair and reasonable healthy competition. NIWA in particular has demonstrated significant stall tactics when it comes to transparency.

We thoroughly welcome the formal investigation and will be limiting our comments on the matter until we are allowed to share more.

– WeatherWatch.co.nz Exclusive