Fog at Wellington Airport (file photo). Photo: RNZ / Patrice Allen
There will be less disruption to flights during bad weather after two new satellite dishes were switched on, the land information minister says.
The two 11-metre satellite dishes are part of the Southern Positioning Augmentation Network - also known as SouthPAN - which improves GPS accuracy from five to 10 metres, down to less than a metre.
Chris Penk said while New Zealanders use GPS daily for all manner of tasks, one of the most noticeable changes will be less disruption to flights in poor weather conditions, with the service making it safer for planes to land when visibility is poor.
"Only a few weeks ago winter weather conditions caused widespread flight cancellations, underscoring the need for modern digital infrastructure to support the safe movement of people, as well as goods and services.
"Improved GPS accuracy has far-reaching benefits for almost every major sector, from agriculture, to aviation, forestry, and construction. An independent report estimated SouthPAN will contribute $864 million to New Zealand's economy over 20 years, through productivity enhancing and labour-saving applications, such as better resource management, more accurate maritime activities and real-time livestock monitoring through digital fencing tools."
SouthPAN is a joint project between the New Zealand and Australian governments. Penk said it would have far-reaching benefits for almost every major sector, from agriculture, to aviation, forestry and construction.
Penk told a Cabinet committee earlier this year the Southpan project was on track, but rated as "amber" to reflect "ongoing pressure" on its schedule and resourcing, a Cabinet paper showed. Projects can be rated red, amber or green - red being the worst.
"Southpan is affected by cost uncertainty due to being an international, multiyear project," Penk said. "However, the project is on track regarding... milestones."
New Zealand's quarter share of the costs was almost $800m.
Australia signed a $1.3 billion, 19-year contract for Southpan with a wing of giant US defence contractor Lockheed Martin Australia two years ago.
"New Zealand would not be able to undertake a project of this scale and complexity on its own," Penk's paper said.
In April 2023, the ageing satellite providing Southpan's early services suffered a four-day outage, affected air traffic controllers' communications with pilots in parts of the Pacific including New Zealand and Australia, according to industry reports.
An investigation by satellite operator Inmarsat did not pin down why it failed. This old satellite was replaced by another one in November 2023.
Southpan will launch two new payloads for satellites in 2027 and 2028.
"The accuracy and availability of services will improve as... ground and space infrastructures come online," Penk told the Cabinet committee. "By 2028, Southpan will... be able to support safety-of-life applications necessary for aviation."
He told RNZ's Nine to Noon on Tuesday the country already had aviation mechanisms in place to harness the system's greater accuracy.
"The implications are enormous in terms of extending the reach of what pilots can safely do," he said.
How Southpan was set up was investigated this year by the Australian National Audit Office. It concluded it complied, but with gaps, and told Geoscience Australia to do better next time.
The gaps included an economic benefits report done by Ernst and Young (EY) that did not undertake a cost-benefit analysis.
It also did not look into the impacts from the ageing satellite being retired, or from "downtime related to solar activity or other external threats", according to the audit.
The EY report forecast $1.5 billion benefits over three decades to New Zealand.
"The world class technology being delivered through the Southpan program will be transformational for the citizens and economies of Australia and New Zealand," the audit said.
