The outlook for tomorrow

IT is one of those things in life that just happens, with absolutely no regard to our bestlaid plans and intentions.

The weather: We all know there is no controlling it, even though there have been a few successes over the years to modify it, largely by seeding clouds with chemicals in an attempt to make it rain.

This helplessness in the face of the elements is why we have to have the best knowledge we can about what it might do next, so we know what we can do next.

Southern folk need to be sure they are getting the most accurate weather information and forecasts possible. Not only are Otago and Southland often in the firing line of rapidly changing and stormy weather, but so many lives and livelihoods here depend on the vagaries of the weather, be it for endeavours in the tourism, farming or fishing industries.

But does the South actually get the forecasting service it deserves from the Government? Could it be better?

Official government forecaster MetService generally does a good job of understanding the meteorological nuances of our tricky region. Its severe weather warnings and watches are mostly accurate and in fact probably more so than the daytoday forecasts.

Niwa, which muscled into the government forecasting arena about a decade ago, can provide a different and sometimes more detailed view of unfolding events, although there are concerns the unnecessary overlap at taxpayers’ expense can confuse matters when a single clear ‘‘authoritative’’ required.

Beyond that, any attempts by private weather companies to offer an alternative source of forecasts are hugely stymied by New Zealand’s restrictive laws on observational data, an approach which wouldn’t have seemed out of place in Stalin’s USSR and which jars alarmingly with freemarket competition. voice is

Despite Stateowned Enterprises Minister David Clark’s insistence in the this week that New Zealand is an open market for weather forecasting, it is not. Niwa and MetService can charge large sums for access to data which we and our forebears have already paid for through taxes.

Dr Clark’s misunderstanding of this issue seems to indicate he is living on another planet.

Otago and Southland residents would benefit from a local forecasting company set up by an entrepreneur with a deep understanding of our weather. If the person has deep pockets too, and can afford to take the openaccess data issue to court to overturn the current duopoly, that would be even better.

Environment Minister David Parker has just woken from a dream — a dream about the Otago Regional Council.

‘‘A nightmare’’, you say? No, a dream in which the strong personalities on the council disappear and some freshthinking, constructive people take their places.

Poor oneterm regional councillor Hilary Calvert. She says she found the job ‘‘very difficult’’ and that Mr Parker was trying to create an ‘‘Alice in Wonderland’’ environment in which councillors pretended to make decisions.

Perhaps the reality is some of those councillors were only pretending to be councillors? We wonder if the Lewis Carroll metaphor is the best one to use, given there was a rabbit hole into which Alice tumbled.

Back in the real world, Cr Calvert and some others around the table should think themselves very lucky Mr Parker had the patience not to do to them what the National government did to Environment Canterbury in 2010 for arguably fewer missteps, sacking its councillors and replacing them with government commissioners.