BOM squad stays: Weather boss apologises for name-change fiasco
Bureau of Meteorology boss Andrew Johnson has apologised for the confusion caused by the agency’s request to be referred to as “the bureau”.
In mid-October, the national weather forecaster asked media outlets to ditch its longstanding nickname āthe BOMā in favour of its full name āthe Bureau of Meteorologyā or āthe bureauā.
The statement, which came with a visual rebrand and new Twitter handles, was met with derision and a slew of sardonic tweets.
In response, Mr Johnson publicly apologised at Fridayās Senate estimates hearing.
āLike any large organisation, there are times where we donāt get it right,ā he said.
āRecent public commentary about the name of our organisation is no reflection whatsoever on our capability and devotion to keeping Australians informed.
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āI sincerely apologise if this commentary has caused confusion or uncertainty in the community. That was certainly not our intention.ā
Johnson said the forecasterās myriad names were confusing to older and linguistically diverse Australians, and stressed the bureauās announcement was not a rebrand nor a name change, but an attempt to āprovide a clear and consistent presenceā.
āWe have simply asked media outlets to refer to us by that name because we think that will increase the effectiveness of our readings and forecasts, particularly for at-risk communities.ā
The CEO also used the opportunity to address claims about workplace chaos at the bureau that emerged after the branding debacle.
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A Saturday Paper report alleged the bureau banned mentions of climate change in connection with severe weather events and blocked individual meteorologists from making public statements about global warming, but Johnson said the forecasterās stance was clear.
āFor many years, we have provided evidence including to this committee that climate change is real and it is very likely that human activities have caused most of the global warming we have seen since 1950,ā he said.
āIāve always felt that our views are always open.ā
He made a clear distinction between the bureauās job as a weather forecaster and CSIROās role as a climate research body.
āWe largely focus on phenomena that go from days through to months and our colleagues at the CSIRO focus on things that go from months through to years.ā
However, Johnson did not engage with claims about his agencyās high turnover and toxic workplace culture.
āWe take all workplace issues seriously and we are committed to providing a healthy, safe and productive workplace.ā
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