Why Niwa was nervous about buying ‘large American ute’

Crown research institute Niwa considered not putting its branding on the four expensive “Super Tower” Silverado utes it recently bought to tow some of its heavy boats.

Correspondence and advice on the purchase of the utes, released under the Official Information Act, show officials at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research were concerned that “a large American ute is not the image that Niwa wishes to project”.

The officials considered options to “soften the look” of the RAM utes then being eyed for purchase by removing the large “in-your-face” badges. They also said Niwa could “consider not signwriting the vehicles”.

The officials were correct in thinking the utes were conspicuous. They were spotted at a car yard by an eagle-eyed Herald reader, who questioned why a Government agency would buy vehicles that retailed at $172,000. The Chevrolet Silverado is actually at the cheaper end of what Niwa was looking to buy. Its first option, the RAM 2500/3500, retails at about $190,000.

The purchase of heavy vehicles by an institute that researches climate change was inevitably going to lead to controversy. The advice received by the Herald noted that the organisation recognised “a mandate for Niwa to move to lower-emission vehicles”. However, officials said their “combined experience” told them “the best and safest vehicle option” for towing heavy boats was a “Super Tower” ute.

The advice also showed why Niwa was so confident it needed these particular utes.

One staff member spent what they described as “a considerable amount of personal time (weekend test drives and research etc)” collecting data on what vehicles were needed.

The problem for Niwa is that it has very large boats that need to be towed around the country and launched from ramps. The staffer noted that these boats were so heavy that only a “Super Tower” should be used to pull them. While less expensive utes could technically be used, the weight of the boats was at the upper limit of those utes’ towing capacity. The test driver noted that lighter utes get “thrown around” by the boats, making them “insanely dangerous”.

The organisation also considered towing the boats with larger, but possibly cheaper, trucks. However, these would have required hiring drivers with a different licence class.

A Niwa spokesperson said the organisation had not considered buying unbranded utes beyond the initial discussion document.

“Strong branding of our vehicles is a health and safety consideration as well as ensuring they are easily identifiable whenever and wherever they are working in the field.”

Niwa considered removing its branding from the new utes. Photo / Corey Fleming

The documents, which were not requested by the Herald, were released after a complaint to the Ombudsman. Niwa had initially withheld much of the material under a section of the Official Information Act that allows agencies to withhold information to “carry out a commercial activity without prejudice or disadvantage”.

The Niwa spokesperson said the organisation released the information after “[d]iscussions with the Ombudsman’s office clarified the extent of what was deemed commercially sensitive”.

Thomas Coughlan is deputy political editor and covers politics from Parliament. He has worked for the Herald since 2021 and has worked in the press gallery since 2018.