The head of the Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has offered a "sincere apology" for "confusion or uncertainty" about its recent naming controversy.
The weather forecaster has endured wide-ranging backlash to its request for media outlets to cease referring to it by the commonly used BOM as part of an expensive update of its "visual identity."
Appearing before a Senate committee today, BOM chief executive Andrew Johnson said the public response had provided "significant learnings" for the organisation.
"There are times when we don't get it right," Dr Johnson said.
"Recent public commentary about the name of our organisation is no reflection whatsoever on our capability and devotion to keeping Australians safe and informed.
"I sincerely apologise if this commentary has caused confusion or uncertainty in the community. That was certainly not our intention."
'Brand refresh' sparks cultural concerns
Following BOM's self-described "brand refresh", which met derision online, the ABC spoke to multiple former staff who said it was symptomatic of cultural issues that had hobbled the organisation for years and that staff turnover was high.
Staff who occupied both meteorological and communications roles have told the ABC the organisation suffers from a messaging-obsessed culture described by some internally as "the Bureau of Management".
BOM denied the characterisation and said its "amazing operational staff deliver for our customers every day."
The ABC is aware that death threats have been sent to the organisation in the past week, and that some BOM staff members have asked not to have their name used during live media crosses.
Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek last week criticised the timing of the organisation's announcement, which coincided with damaging flooding in many parts of the country.
"It's ridiculous for the BOM to be talking about rebranding," she said.
Dr Johnson was today critical of “ill-informed and inaccurate commentary” but said the organisation would have done things differently "with the benefit of hindsight".
"We are not rebranding, for the avoidance of any doubt," he said.
"The whole intent about what we've been trying to do is provide a clear and consistent presence to the community.”
He stressed the organisation was simply asking media outlets to refer to it by its full title — the Bureau of Meteorology — in the first instance, something that was already standard in the ABC's style guide and those of many other media outlets.
On second instances or where shortened, the organisation has asked to be referred to as "the Bureau" rather than the BOM.
Research commissioned by BOM found 81 per cent of the public recognised the name "Bureau of Meteorology" and 60 per cent recognised "BOM".
Just 15 per cent recognised the organisation by the name "the Bureau".
The BOM last week told the ABC it was conducting an internal review over how a series of unfavourable tweets about the organisation's "brand refresh" were liked by its own official Twitter account.
Amid the public scrutiny, Dr Johnson sought to emphasise the organisation's professionalism and level of service to the community.
"The bureau now has more meteorologists, hydrologists and climatologists than at any other time in its history and we are actively recruiting more," he said.
