This Government omnibus bill allows the Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited (MetService) to be acquired by the New Zealand Institute for Earth Science Limited (NZIES), a Crown Research Institute. Its general policy statement says the change follows the independent Weather Forecasting System Review, after which the Government agreed in April 2025 that the two organisations should be brought together. The bill amends the State-Owned Enterprises Act 1986 to remove MetService's listing as a State enterprise (shareholding Ministers cannot otherwise transfer their shares), exempts the acquisition from Part 3 of the Commerce Act 1986, and amends the Crown Research Institutes Act 1992 to require NZIES to publish its access policy for observational weather data. Transitional provisions ensure contracts, rights, and obligations are not affected by the acquisition, and the Official Information Act 1982 and Ombudsmen Act 1975 continue to apply to MetService as a related company of a Crown Research Institute.
Parliament advanced this bill under urgency (first reading) — moving it through faster than usual, with less time than normal for public submissions.
This omnibus bill enables the Meteorological Service of New Zealand (MetService) to be acquired by the New Zealand Institute for Earth Science, moving it out of State-owned enterprise status, and requires the Institute to publish its policy for access to observational weather data. MetService is the designated provider of severe-weather forecasts and warnings, and the change follows an independent review of the country's weather-forecasting system that recommended consolidating meteorological functions.
Supporters argue that bringing forecasting capability together can improve coordination and resilience, especially during severe weather, while an open data-access policy preserves transparency. Others may scrutinise how public-good forecasting and warning services are protected under the new ownership, and whether data access and competition in downstream weather services are adequately safeguarded.
See the Parliament.nz ↗ site for the full bill.