Chris Penk: Land Information Minister on the new Southland-based satellite tech that could reduce disrupted flights

There's hopes new flight technology will give aviation a needed boost.

Two new satellite dishes now operating in Invercargill will collect data used to improve GPS accuracy.

It will let pilots land planes in weather conditions currently deemed too dangerous for some flights.

Land Information Minister Chris Penk says the days of waiting around for fog to clear may well be over.

"As the technology improves over time and we get refined positions with various repeater stations around New Zealand and Australia, the possibilities just become endless." 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Some good news, some new kit to make life better.
The government has switched on some new satellite dishes which
we are meant to save us all from fog delays
at the airport. There's a new facility in Southend and
that's going to work along with another station in Australia,
and it makes GPS accurate to within a meter in
this part of the world, which means planes can fly,

(00:20):
can land and can take off in fog. Chris Pink
is the Land Information Minister and joins me. Now, hello,
Chris good So does this mean my plane will no
longer be delayed by the fog and Auckland airport.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
Well, it should certainly reduce the number of delays and
cancelations as a result of and weather, whether it's spoiled
or other restrictive visibility. So we're really excited if that
makes you more able to get around the country without
those destructions. In think search and rescue as well. There's
a whole heap of different applications that's going to help out,
even just in aviation, and then you've got a whole
heap of other uses for it as well. So that's

(00:56):
really exciting.

Speaker 1 (00:56):
No, but the planes right up and down the country
where there are fogs. That's a direct cost of productivity.
So if we get an increase in there, that's good
for New Zealand. And what sort of increase in productivity,
increase in the number of flights that we will go
in fog will we get.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
Well, look, it's difficult to know the exact number because
the technology is improving all the time. And look the
difference between what you've cited as a meter accuracy and
what it actually might be in some cases down to
ten centimeters would you believe could make all the difference
between the flight being able to land safely or not.
So if the technology improves over time and we get

(01:36):
refined positions with various repeat stations around New Zealand and Australia,
the possibilities just become endless.

Speaker 1 (01:43):
Well, I understand that er Young has already modeled this
and said sixty five percent drop in the number of
flights canceled.

Speaker 2 (01:48):
That's good. Yeah, that'll be incredible, isn't it. Yeah, I
mean any kind of change, like you say, from a
productivity point of view, and not having people sitting around
calling their heels in the airport all so, just on
a human level. You know, to have that assume t
that you can get around much more confidently and suddenly
it's going to provide a huge booing.

Speaker 1 (02:09):
So what is the cost? How much did this piece
of kit cost?

Speaker 2 (02:13):
I don't actually have a breakdown for the individual bits
of kit, but I mean certainly a serious.

Speaker 1 (02:19):
Well as a project. As a project, how much does
this project costs?

Speaker 2 (02:23):
I don't actually have it for in front of me,
which is remissively but what I will say is that
I give to the credit where it's drue. It's been
a cost, it's been committed to over successive governments. You know,
these are not long these these are long run investments
that need to be made. So the fact that the
last government picked up our previous week in the sect
we can I think this is good things about the

(02:44):
value of it to New Zealand Inkin that doesn't need
to be a particularly political method.

Speaker 1 (02:49):
Therefore, very good Chris pink Land Information Minister, and I
thank you for your time. Of course we are talking
greatly about financial management. But unfortunately Chris can't tell me
how much this piece of kit cost, which is a
little awkward. For more from hither Duplessy Allen Drive listen
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