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NABIS Rebuilt... NABIS 2009

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:50:00 +1300

On the 9^th of October, after 2 years of hard work from a small but very dedicated team, the Ministry of Fisheries launched a new NABIS website.

The site has always been about increasing the accessibility of fisheries spatial data and as a consequence increasing the ability of interested parties to visualise and participate in decision making processes. The Ministry's staff also find the old adage "a picture paints a thousand words" rings true on a number of occasions.

If you know the old site (NABIS 2004) the new site (NABIS 2009) shouldn't look much different. The brief was to replace the java site with a .net site, while rebuilding the infrastructure to allow other Ministry applications easy access to the data. There are currently two other Ministry applications using the wealth of spatial data held within the spatial data warehouse. The database also uses Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standards and we hope to have WMS and/or WFS available to the wider public in the future. We have also updated our administration tool and added a content management system which allows for a very speedy turn around of data and content from the desktop to live publication on the web. Hopefully you will notice it is quicker, we have a new search function and an improved print function.

Because of the size of the project we haven't completely replaced NABIS 2004 but will do so according to the needs of our users. If you have any feedback regarding the tools and data then please let us know. NABIS 2004 will be kept running (in parallel with NABIS 2009) for the next 6 to 12 months; just in case users need any of the tools that haven't yet been implemented on NABIS 2009.

We have all learnt a great deal from the project and would be happy to share our experience with others heading down the same path. If you would like more information please contact the NABIS team at nabis@fish.govt.nz

Juliane Sellars
Ministry of Fisheries

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FOSS4G Conference - Free & Open Source Software for Geospatial

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:50:00 +1300

FOSS4G is an annual conference about open source software for geospatial systems. Each year it is held in a different city around the world, this year it was in Sydney.

Although attendance was reported to be down on last year it still attracted many of the open source industry's key figures.

One of the themes I picked up on is a narrowing of the gap between open source and proprietary software. Proprietary companies have realised making some of their software open source removes barriers for software uptake and improvement. There is also a realisation that software companies, whether they're open source or proprietary, make their money from things such as support services, training, developer communities etc; and not the actual code itself.

The talk that struck me the most was given by a Professor Andy Pitman, an Australian climate scientist. Although he talked mostly about the software they use for climate science, he predicted that if carbon emissions continue as they are we will be facing serious consequences by 2030.

Geospatial is at the core of work to manage things such as climate change.

Ian Harrison

GIS Analyst
Land Information New Zealand

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LINZ - Authoritative & Federated Land & Seabed Information

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:54:00 +1300

Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) holds some significant pieces of land information such as our geodetic system, cadastral survey, land register and topographic and hydrographic datasets.

Although these datasets are a small part of the total NZ geospatial information pool, they are important foundation layers that can be built upon and combined with other datasets.

LINZ is committed to improving access to spatial information and our current Statement of Intent identifies two key outcome areas related to this that LINZ will focus on over the next three years.

The first outcome is providing 'authoritative land and seabed information' - so that people who need our land information can access it easily and be confident in how they communicate and make decisions about locations based on its application.

The second outcome is 'federated geospatial information' - a system where the datasets that are distributed throughout the country are linked together and are able to be combined and used by the community. This system requires agencies throughout the sector to contribute to be truly federated. LINZ has a core role in developing this system and leading agencies to collaborate.

As part of LINZ's commitment to spatial information, we're taking the following initiatives over the next year:

We've launched the new NZTopo50 maps (on 23 September 2009) based off a new datum and projection. We'll continue to provide paper maps (still in high demand), but people can also download for free from the LINZ website raster digital images, provided in two formats: (1) TIFF - the whole map including legend and index (essentially what the hard copy map looks like but in electronic format), and (2) GeoTIFF - spatial data area only, with georeferencing (that can be used a base layers in Geographic Information Systems). Please note that if you want to download more than one TIFF or GeoTIFF image, it is easier to contact the LINZ helpline (0800 665 463) or email the LINZ Topographic Product and Service Owner for the complete set for a region or the whole country.
In addition to providing raster digital images, LINZ will make vector-based topographic data available to download for free from the LINZ website in shapefile format - commonly used by many Geographic Information Systems.
We'll also be working on how we update topographic information and how that update is rolled out - a version control issue that will impact on emergency services, so needs to be carefully considered.
We're investigating how to improve access to our paper survey and title records. LINZ faces the same challenges as anyone looking to move a large amount of paper into the electronic age, where it isn't feasible to scan everything. We're working on establishing indexes, what degree of imaging is appropriate, and how this should be accessed.
We're continuing to produce and maintain Electronic Navigational Charts (ENC's). The electronic format of ENCs, when used with Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS), integrates with other navigational systems and gives mariners access to a wide range of informational features to aid safe navigation.
We're investigating the development of an infrastructure to support the re-use of spatial information, and are looking to build on models that have been effective overseas, such as Shared Land Information Platform in Western Australia.
A key early building block for this infrastructure is the development of a catalogue to capture the wealth of spatial information about New Zealand. LINZ is supporting work to develop such a catalogue, with LINZ-held data included from the outset. The catalogue will be based on the ANZLIC metadata standard, so the spatial data is described (metadata) consistently. The catalogue will assist discovery of spatial information and provide metadata such as how accurate the information is, when it was last up-dated, and where to get the information.
We're working with the State Services Commission on developing the New Zealand Government Open Access Licensing (NZGOAL) Framework by applying the framework to datasets held by LINZ.

The importance of shaping our strategic direction for greater access to information has been highlighted by the recent findings of the report on the value of spatial information to the New Zealand economy. How LINZ manages the risks and opportunities involved in freeing up its data will fundamentally affect how the spatial sector, amongst others, makes use of that data, and how as an organisation we contribute to a healthier economy and improved standard of living in New Zealand.

James Dempsey

Customer Services Strategy Manager
Land Information New Zealand

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Surveying & Spatial Sciences Institute (SSSI) New Zealand Region

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:53:00 +1300

I'm just back from SSC2009 in Adelaide where it was announced that Wellington would host the Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute's (SSSI) next conference in 2011. The last time this conference was held in New Zealand, as AURISA, was in 1997 in Christchurch. We were overdue for a national, or in this case international, spatial conference. SSC2011 will be run by both the SSSI and the NZ Institute of Surveyors. We also have agreement in principle from our main GIS vendor user groups to incorporate their 2011 event into SSC2011.

At Adelaide there were over 600 delegates and almost 50 vendors - not a bad turnout during an economic recession. Some of the things I picked up at the conference included:

The value of open standards.
The need to decouple economic growth from carbon emissions.
Use terms like "maps" and "location" and avoid using "spatial".
60% of the state of Victoria's legislation has some form of spatial footprint.
WALIS's SLIP as a model for data dissemination.
Using an information management approach for environmental monitoring.

However, my primary role in Adelaide was to promote SSC2011 and try to capture the imagination of the Australian delegates to encourage them to come over for the conference. It wasn't difficult. There is genuine interest in having the conference here - and bringing the family over for a holiday. People still speak highly of the 1997 conference. Then there's the date. October 17-21 is the week between the semi-finals and the final of the Rugby World Cup (both held in Auckland). We expect this to attract a few more delegates from overseas.

The challenge is to deliver a conference that exceeds our expectations. This is where you can help - with ideas and a helping hand. We might have two years, but that will go by very quickly.

If you would like to get involved, in any way, please contact me at karl.majorhazi@gmail.com.

And finally, I'd like to thank all those who supported our bid.

Karl Majorhazi
Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute

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Geospatial Custodian role filled

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:26:00 +1300

Kevin Sweeney has been appointed as Land Information New Zealand's Geospatial Custodian.

Kevin joins LINZ following 16 years of both managerial and technical geospatial experience in the public, private and academic sectors in his native United States.

Kevin's visa application is currently being processed, and he's anticipating starting in the role in the New Year. Kevin, his wife and daughters - aged six and three - are looking forward to relocating to Wellington. We will advise when Kevin's start date is confirmed.

For the last six years, Kevin has worked in the private sector as a GIS Manager at CH2M HILL in Atlanta, Georgia, and FMSM Engineers in Columbus, Ohio. In these roles, he administered GIS staff and operations, managed programmes and projects, and coordinated business development efforts. He also served as a senior consultant for LAND elements inc., in Colorado Springs, Colorado, advising a start-up land planning company on geospatial technology solutions.

Kevin has worked in the public sector in multiple leadership roles, including Director of Technical Services for Marana, Arizona. He provided a wide range of technical support, including GIS implementations, 3D visualization, application development and cartographic production. Kevin was the Marana representative for regional planning and geospatial initiatives, served as a senior technical liaison for city administrators, and coordinated strategic planning and policy development for the GIS Division.

Throughout his career, Kevin has developed and delivered geospatial training sessions and presentations for a wide range of audiences. He is certified in the US as a GIS Professional.

Kevin holds a Masters degree in Geography from the University of Arizona and a Bachelors degree in Geography from Northern Arizona University. In his spare time, Kevin enjoys hiking, mountain biking and travelling, and is eager to explore all of the natural and cultural wonders New Zealand has to offer.

LINZ advertised the Geospatial Custodian role in May, and we went to great lengths to ensure the successful applicant has the right mix of technical and inter-personal skills, as well as private and public sector experience.

Acting Geospatial Custodian, Adam Cooper, will continue in the role until Kevin comes on board early next year.

Sue Gordon
General Manager Strategic Development and Support
Land Information New Zealand

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Prices for LINZ Bulk Data Products Fall

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:53:00 +1300

Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) has reduced the fees for two of New Zealand's fundamental datasets, relating to topography and property titles (cadastral). People can now obtain extracts of the underlying data held by LINZ for a fraction of the cost. For further information see the LINZ website.

Find out how you can purchase the data.

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Geospatial Semantics

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:10:00 +1200

Kia ora tatou

Yesterday's workshop at the Auckland University on Geospatial Semantics run by the Centre for eResearch was very interesting and highlights the need for a co-ordinated approach to achieve interoperability.

If "interoperability" isn't enough of a mouthful - try "semantic interoperability". This was the theme of yesterday's workshop. So what is semantic interoperability? Let's unravel the term...

Broadly, interoperability is a concept that describes a state when things, such as spatial information, are able to be used in different systems (to inter-operate). For example, in a computing context, interoperability would be achieved when data is able to be shared across different systems, such as between government agencies. There are different levels of interoperability. For example, we might both be able to display a PowerPoint presentation on screen (data services)... But the presentation is in French and I can't read French (data content). Semantics is at this data content level.

Semantics is harder to define neatly, but refers to the study of meaning, particularly the study of signs and symbols to represent other concepts and entities as used by agents or communities within particular contexts. Semantics studies how we describe, represent, or structure what we're talking about. For example, whether we talk about volcanic rocks or igneous extrusive rocks.

Ok... having got that semantic task cleared up... what were some of the key things that I took away from the day?

The study of semantics is highly esoteric - but is very interesting and is important. We need more presenters like Boyan Brodaric and Mark Gahegan to (ironically) demystify what is a potentially inaccessible field with specialised language!
Developing a semantic structure is vital for interoperability - but not sufficient. We need to co-ordinate our semantics. A standard is of limited value - unless we all use the same standard. We have a challenge to co-ordinate our efforts.
Semantic interoperability offers great potential - but we need to recognise that there are limits to trying to impose a structure on the infinite complexity of the real world and, particularly our subjective representation of this world. We need to develop semantic models for data that somehow reflect the diversity of models that different people create to represent their worlds.
The divide between a metadata-based approach (like an old fashioned library catalogue) to finding, organising, structuring data and a semantic-based (like tagging meaning to data) approach is not black and white. Metadata and semantics are complimentary. It's not one approach or the other, certainly given the current state of technological developments and uptake of semantic approach. Metadata is useful for cataloguing data.

A copy of Boyan Brodaric's keynote presentation is available below. Boyan's presentation provides a nice introduction to semantics and provides some good examples of semantics in geology.

Semantics and the Geosciences: an introduction with examples from geology (PDF 2.2MB)

For a full list of speakers, see the workshop agenda (PDF 76KB). I'll update this post with a link to the other presentations once copies of them are made available.

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CRCSI-2 Bid Successful!

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 13:29:00 +1200

The Australia / New Zealand spatial sector will gain access to new data, technologies and services through the AU$32.2 million funding of a major research program in satellite positioning and remote sensing technologies, announced by the Australian Government in August. The funding goes to the Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information (CRCSI-2) and involves over 100 organisations, from government and the private sector, coming together with universities in an eight-year joint venture (2009 - 2017).

With a total budget of AU$180 million (made up of government funding and in-kind support), Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) recognised the oppportunity for the CRCSI-2 to deliver benefits to New Zealand and joined the re-bid. The successful re-bid builds on encouraging results produced by the CRCSI in the last six years, including access to intellectual property, networking for information access and strategic alliances, formation of new markets and access to international markets, and upskilling opportunities.

CRCSI-2 provides an opportunity to develop the infrastructure needed to support the development and re-use of spatial information. LINZ has agreed to dedicate a role to coordinate New Zealand's participation in CRCSI-2 activities. Examples of areas where agencies, such as government, academia, and Crown Research Institutes, could benefit include:

natural resources management
positioning
remote sensing and feature extraction
climate change
health
urban planning and development
economic development.

If you are interested in finding out more about this opportunity or are interested in getting involved please contact us.

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LINZ coordinates geospatial metadata workshops and provides ongoing support for users

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 13:25:00 +1200

Three ANZLIC (Australia New Zealand Land Information Council) workshops related to geospatial metadata were held in Wellington, Christchurch and Auckland in early August 2009. The workshops trained people from central and local government, CRIs and the private sector to act as trainers in their own organisations for standards-based metadata for geospatial data. People who attended the workshops learnt how to use the recently released, free, standalone ANZMet Lite metadata entry tool plus metadata guidance resources.

The ANZMet Lite tool can be download from the ANZLIC website.

The metadata guidance resources can be found on the Australian Government Office of Spatial Data Management website.

Workshop presenters were Liz Marchant (ANZLIC Executive Director) and John Weaver (Manager, Office of Spatial Data Management), both from Canberra with support from LINZ (Greg Drummond and Geoff O'Malley).

LINZ is providing ongoing support through its 0800 number (0800 665 463) for the ANZMet Lite metadata tool and for the ANZLIC Metadata Profile.

Launch event a great success - thank you

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 22:06:00 +1200

I'd like to pass on my sincere thanks to all the people that worked hard to make the event last night such a success.

Over 60 people attend the function, co-hosted by LINZ and the Spatial Industries Business Association (SIBA), to launch the report - Spatial Information in the New Zealand Economy.

It was great to see such a good turnout, hear the encouraging speeches and connect with people from across the sector.

The highlight for me was seeing the collaborative effort that went into making it happen.

Adam Cooper

Geospatial Custodian (Acting)

LINZ media release - Spatial information adds hundreds of millions to New Zealand's economy

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 18:00:00 +1200

Innovative use of spatial information pumped more than $1 billion into the New Zealand economy in 2008 – and better access to data could see that figure soar, according to a report into the value of spatial information.

Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), the Department of Conservation (DOC) and the Ministry for Economic Development (MED) recently commissioned a report to uncover the contribution spatial information makes to the economy.

That report – Spatial information in the New Zealand economy - realising productivity gains – was released today by Minister for Land Information Maurice Williamson and LINZ Chief Executive Colin MacDonald.

Spatial information is data that is linked to a geographic location. It has thousands of applications, making it possible to do things like use maps on mobile phones or send emergency services to the right addresses.

The report outlines that use of spatial information added at least $1.2 billion to the economy last year through productivity gains, largely as a result of the increasing adoption of modern spatial information technologies since 1995.

Wider and better use of spatial information could lead to even greater productivity, adding another $500 million to the economy.

“We’ve always believed that spatial information contributes significantly to the economy, now we have credible data to back that up,” Maurice Williamson said. “One of the main challenges is to free up access to data, so that greater productivity gains are realised.”

Providing better access to data will encourage innovation, as users find new ways of translating spatial information to solve problems and develop new products, Mr Williamson said.

“Industry and the government sector must work together to realise the benefits of more open access and standardised data, so that the economy can grow further.”

Mr MacDonald said using spatial information was part of our everyday lives, so much so that most people didn’t even think about it. “But without this data, modern society would grind to a halt.”

New Zealanders are already doing great things with the spatial information they’ve got their hands on, he said.

“It’s a small, dynamic sector with the potential to lead the world. However, industry leaders have been saying for a long time that if they had easier access to data they could do so much more. The opportunities are boundless.”

The report recommends New Zealand develops a national spatial data infrastructure, a step that appeals to the Government, Mr Williamson said.
“Government has already signalled that spatial data infrastructure is a priority area. For the good of the economy, now is the right time to knock away the remaining barriers to more widespread adoption of spatial information.”

ENDS

For more information see the:

Media contact: Dionne Barton, Team Leader Strategic Communications, Land Information New Zealand, on 04 460 2718 or 027 444 4223.

SIBA chairman Steve Critchlow speech at the launch of the Spatial Information in the New Zealand Economy report

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:30:00 +1200

Speech by Steve Critchlow, Chair of the Spatial Industries Business Association of New Zealand, at the launch of the ACIL Tasman report on Spatial Information in the New Zealand Economy. 25 August 2009, in conjunction with SIBA’s inaugural Annual General Meeting.

Minister Williamson, Senator Lundy, Mr MacDonald, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Its a pleasure to see you all here at the first Annual General Meeting of the Spatial Industries Business Association of New Zealand.

Frankly, when we set the AGM date two months ago, we did not expect to see so many here tonight.

Nevertheless, you are all very welcome at this remarkable event.

This event is remarkable for three reasons.

First, it is about identifying the contribution of Spatial Information to our economy - it has been invisible up until now.

Second, it is remarkable because this evening is a demonstration of collaboration and joint leadership between the state and the private sector.

SIBA welcomes this – thank you Colin [MacDonald] for taking the lead for the state.

Third, it is remarkable because of the commitment by government to improve New Zealand’s Spatial Data Infrastructure – more about this in a minute.

These three things provide a new platform and a new way of working.

Together, we can use this to improve the benefits for New Zealand from Spatial Information.

I would now like to take a minute to talk about a Spatial Data Infrastructure.

Its development will go a long way to reducing the existing barriers identified in the ACIL Tasman report.

The ACIL Tasman report identifies these barriers are currently depriving NZ of some 500 million dollars of GDP per year.

An SDI decision would be the biggest step forward in our game since 1999 when the previous National government opened up the national Topographical dataset by reducing its price from 1.8 million dollars to 1,500 dollars.

Actually, 500 years ago maps were almost “priceless” and locked up with the Crown Jewels, so there is a trend developing.

How do we deliver a National Spatial Data Infrastructure?

A joint workshop in November will provide an opportunity to develop an Action Agenda, following on from the 2001 Australian experience.

This would bring together major users from industry, commerce, and central and local government to identify their barriers and priorities.

We will need joint working groups to look at various parts of the Spatial Data Infrastructure.

We hope many of you will join us and LINZ on these working groups.

One major objective is to help LINZ in its request for funding for the 2010–11 financial year to remove barriers to the easier use of Spatial Information.

We will also need to recognise the value of 20 years of investment on spatial databases created and maintained by SIBA members that provide a unique insight into NZ. That is for another day.

The ACIL Tasman report suggests that 100 million dollars of investment would generate government revenue (tax income) of a matching 100 million and deliver 500 million dollars of benefits to the economy.

A Spatial Data Infrastructure is all about improving the supply side of the Spatial Industries sector.

The demand side is even more exciting – it has the potential to increase our GDP even more significantly.

SIBA members help organisations use Spatial Information to improve productivity and increase the certainty of decision-making and so help New Zealand prosper.

The ACIL-Tasman Report clearly states that most of government and much of industry is at the “early adopter” penetration level of the technology take-up cycle.

The important point is that this roughly 10% adoption level already contributes $1.2 billion per year to GDP.

This means that by encouraging individuals and organisations to adopt methods that are already used by others in their sector, there is the potential to increase this contribution many times.

The timing and impact are not quantified in the report, but typically moving from early adoption to maturity delivers a 2 to 5 times economic multiplier over 10 to 20 years.

Clearly with this potential we need to take this opportunity seriously.

Nevertheless, as a US Senator said “a billion here, a billion there – pretty soon it adds up to real money”.

As a first step, SIBA will be taking the lead to encourage “conversations” between the spatial sector and other sectors.

We aim to help organisations share their experiences of the use of spatial information to increase the level of adoption and the speed of uptake.

We are aiming to help improve productivity across the whole New Zealand economy through the use of Spatial Information.

The plan is for an Action Summit in March 2010 to help this along.

We will seek continued input from Regional Development agencies such as Grow Wellington, and interaction with the Productivity Taskforce.

Finally, thank-you.

Thank you Minister [Williamson]. We appreciate your insight and encouragement.

Thank you Senator Lundy. Australia has always had a leadership position in the spatial information sector. We appreciate support from SIBA and our respected colleagues across the ditch. We’re all on this planet together.

Thank you Colin [MacDonald]. We appreciate the changes you have made already, and look forward to more cooperation and collaboration with LINZ – thank you for your leadership in the state sector.

I would like to acknowledge and thank the members of the SIBA Establishment Committee and the committed individuals who share our vision. We look forward to working with you on New Zealand’s Spatial Data Infrastructure and Spatial Sector Action Agenda.

The next few months will be very busy.

SIBA may be a new business association, but what I see forming is a new community across the whole sector.

This can only be good for New Zealand.

Thank you all for joining us on this auspicious occasion.

For more information see the:

LINZ CEO Colin MacDonald speech at the launch of the Spatial Information in the New Zealand Economy report

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:30:00 +1200

Good evening everyone & welcome

"everything happens somewhere" - and information about where is used to inform many everyday activities...

...whether it's an organisation like Fonterra knowing where its milk tankers are so they can be re-directed depending on actual pickup volumes

or whether it's someone finding a wedding ring lost at the bottom of Wellington Harbour (as reported in Wellington's Dominion Post newspaper last week), the story is the same - location matters!

And so I am really delighted to welcome you all to the launch of the report Spatial information in the New Zealand economy.

I would like to extend a special welcome to the speakers who follow:

Hon. Maurice Williamson - Minister for Land Information (who will talk about the importance of finding new ways to grow our GDP and some of the work underway in government around information use and re-use )
Senator Kate Lundy - Senator for the Australian Capital Territory - who will give us the Australian perspective on spatial information and technology. Senator Lundy is due in another location and has to leave us by 10 to 7.
Steve Critchlow - Chair of the Spatial Industries Business Association - our co-hosts this evening. Steve will discuss the role of the spatial industry as an enabler in raising our national productivity.

The report being launched tonight is important. It provides robust economic analysis that quantifies the contribution spatial information makes to the New Zealand economy as well as identifying opportunities for this contribution to grow.

The main finding of the report is that the use and re-use of spatial information is estimated to have added $1.2 billion in productivity related benefits to the New Zealand economy last year.

This value is the result of increasing adoption of modern spatial information technologies, and is equivalent to slightly more than 0.6 per cent of GDP in 2008.

This is a conservative estimate, and does not include non-productivity benefits that are likely to be worth a multiple of this. For example, spatial information is vital for emergency services. The value of getting to the victim of a cardiac arrest on time - is a matter of life or death. Evaluating non-productivity benefits was beyond the scope of this report - but we should not overlook this additional value to the community.

The report contains numerous case studies that show how spatial systems and information are used in almost every area of the economy - from government services to trade, construction, agriculture, transport and tourism. Crucially, location information helps many people around the country make better decisions about how we use our land, our water and other resources.

The report states that there is tremendous potential for further benefits to be realised - and we should start by removing the barriers to this information being used more widely. The most notable barriers identified in the report are to do with accessing government-held data and inconsistency in data standards. The report estimates that by removing these barriers, New Zealand could have benefitted from an additional $481 million in productivity related benefits in 2008, generating at least $100 million in government revenue.

The report recommends that government agencies release the existing spatial data they hold - in forms that maximise re-use.

This reinforces the view that spatial data and systems are raw material for innovation - something our innovative and creative citizens and companies can use to create value.

LINZ is committed to seeing this value created. I'd like to briefly share with you some things we have done, and are doing, to demonstrate that commitment:

We are making our data more accessible. In July, Cabinet approved significant fee reductions for LINZ bulk topographic data as well as for bulk survey and titles data. Both these datasets will be available for less than $100 each from 11 September 2009.

Next month we are launching a new national topographic map series - this contains improved data and will be available at a significantly reduced price due to improved technology. And map files will be available online free of charge.

Making spatial data available for re-use is an important first step towards a broader initiative to develop an effective national Spatial Data Infrastructure - or SDI. We have shaped our strategic direction over the next three years to play a leadership role in developing an SDI for New Zealand.

I am also pleased to announce that in June this year we committed to join the new Co-operative Research Centre for Spatial Information in Australia (known as CRC-SI2). This initiative brings together over 100 organisations from government, the private sector and universities in an eight-year joint venture with a total budget of $180 million Australian Dollars - including cash and in-kind contributions. LINZ's membership aims to foster greater cooperation between New Zealand and Australian organisations involved in leading edge spatial information tools and technologies. It is an example of New Zealand and Australia working together for mutually beneficial outcomes.

Last month we established a national helpdesk to support holders of spatial information in creating metadata - and we will be working with other agencies over the coming months on a proposal to establish a geospatial standards coordination function in LINZ.

Finally, we are working closely with the recently established Spatial Industries Business Association. I would like to congratulate Steve Critchlow and the other industry members who have worked hard to establish this association. We look forward to an ongoing partnership with SIBA to develop joint plans that unlock the potential that spatial information holds for New Zealand.

For New Zealand to realise the value of spatial information more fully, a range of pragmatic and ongoing actions are needed by many participants. It is pleasing to see the important work underway across a range of government agencies that will help realise this value - the Hon Minister Maurice Williamson will mention some of these shortly.

This economics report is a collaborative effort and there are many people to thank. I would particularly like to thank:

the Department of Conservation and the Ministry for Economic Development who along with LINZ provided funding for the project
the Reference Group who guided the project
the people from private companies, Crown Research Institutes, local and central government who took time to provide case study material
and the authors of the report - ACIL Tasman from Australia, SKM from Wellington and Ecological Associates from Auckland who produced a quality document in a short timeframe.

I would now like to introduce the Hon. Maurice Williamson, Minister for Land Information, to say a few words.

A couple of weeks ago the Minister visited LINZ's National Office and was given a whirlwind tour of some of the spatial information technology that LINZ uses. I hope the Minister won't mind me saying that afterwards he mentioned being "like a kid in a chocolate factory" - And he wanted to stay longer! This reflects the Minister's experience working with ICT and we certainly appreciate his knowledge of, and enthusiasm for, this area.

Please join me in welcoming Hon. Minister Williamson

SIBA media release - Half a billion reasons for urgent action

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:00:00 +1200

Urgent action by Government and industry to organise a national approach to the spatial industry will give the economy a $0.5 billion annual productivity boost, according to the Spatial Industries Business Association (SIBA).

SIBA Chairman Steve Critchlow said this was the clear outtake of a report released today by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) on the impact of the spatial industry on the New Zealand economy.

“The report makes it clear that implementing a national strategy for the spatial industry is one of the fastest ways the Government can give our national economic productivity a lasting boost,” he said.

The report details the $1.2 billion annual contribution that the spatial industry makes to GDP, and identifies “blockages” that prevent a further $0.5 billion of productivity benefits flowing through the economy. The report goes on to say that a strategy for removing these blockages to create a National Spatial Data Infrastructure was now imperative.

“Our competitors are already well ahead of us. Smart economies such as USA, Australia, the EU and Singapore have a strategy for a Spatial Data Infrastructure either in place or under development. New Zealand is bleeding productivity without one,” Mr Critchlow said.

SIBA proposed a conference in November to bring together industry and Government to begin the process.

“Every day that we don’t act is costing New Zealand $1.3 million in lost productivity. The industry is ready to act now. We call on the Government to join us,” he said.

About the spatial industry

The spatial industry comprises private and public sector players employing technology that combines data with location information. The spatial industry provides productivity gains to every sector of the economy including fishing (eg GPS to locate fish stocks); agriculture (eg recording precise dosage of fertiliser to land areas); infrastructure (eg managing roading or other network assets such as location of wires); forestry (eg aerial remote sensing to check the health of trees); tourism (eg electronic guides) and retail (eg locating new sites according to demographic data).

About SIBA

SIBA is a coalition of private sector companies in the spatial industry that was formed in 2009.

For more information about this media release and SIBA, contact Chris Brown, Communications, SIBA, on 027 477 9484 or chris@sputnik.co.nz.

For more information about the report see the:

Australian Senator Kate Lundy speech at the launch of the Spatial Information in the New Zealand Economy report

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 12:30:00 +1200

I am very pleased to be here, as this is an important area - along with metadata - which is close to my heart - and an area that I think will contribute significantly to transforming how government interacts with and serves citizens all over the world.

Spatial data is an extremely important, but often overlooked component in modern services delivery, collaboration tools and archival. I'll briefly touch on each of these areas as but a few demonstrable examples of the usefulness of spatial data.

Spatial data contributes to services delivery by helping facilitate a user-centric, or in the case of government, a citizen-centric delivery of information and services. A citizen's location is a simple and relatively anonymous identifier through which the most appropriate local services, such as the local Council or medical facilities can be presented.

Collecting and sharing spatial data across agencies helps with consolidating and correlating projects both externally and internally, which means government agencies across the spheres of government can be better informed about other agency projects, and areas of potential collaboration.

In relation to archival, collecting and maintaining geospatial metadata of data and projects - whether that be the location of authorship or the various geocoded information therein - is vital for ensuring future probity as well as the geographical context of the data. When you consider the value of historical records combined with modern Web 2.0 mapping mashup tools, this becomes extremely important for research, learning and for citizens to engage in their own histories.

Open access to spatial data is important, particularly as open standards and with permissive copyright conditions as this provides opportunities for innovation:

Private innovation - Australian companies can value-add to government spatial data and create opportunities for themselves and the Australian economy. The competitive differentiator becomes how data is presented, collated, and delivered in useful ways, rather than the data itself.
Public innovation - there are many communities of interest and even individuals who can leverage publicly available data to create useful services. For example there is a new website looking at how many Australian politicians use Twitter, and you can put your postcode in and see whether your local member is Tweeting. Or OpenStreetMaps, a community initiative providing street map data which is then used by many community driven projects such as translated maps, as well as some high profile use cases, such as for the Obama administration at http://whitehouse.gov/change

Government has several responsibilities in this area:

To ensure open access to government owned spatial data for public and private innovation.
The ensure appropriate spatial data is captured for government projects and data.
To understand how it can support this rapidly growing industry.
To collaborate with both public and private interests to ensure spatial data helps citizens. An example we need to learn from is the Victorian bushfires. If there were well understood and practiced mechanisms for sharing government spatial data, perhaps public and private interests could have leveraged the government data to assist in helping Australians throughout and after the crisis.
To engage in spatially enabled Gov 2.0 initiatives to both improve government services, and to encourage industry development in this area.

So what is happening in Australia?

In Australia we have some incredible Gov 2.0 initiatives which are strongly leveraging spatial data:

The Australian Government Economic Stimulus Plan website. Citizens can find projects in their local area - http://www.economicstimulusplan.gov.au/
The Office of Spatial Data Management (OSDM) has made made data sets freely available. Their recent Spatial@Gov conference has a fantastic array of case studies in Australia which you can read on their websitel. One of their projects is the "Interoperability demonstration" which shows many example data sets on a map that can we switched on and off for easy information browsing.
In September the Geospatial Information and Technology Association (GITA) will be running their annual conference, which should be interesting. http://www.gita.org.au/
In October Australia is hosting the global Free and Open Source Software for GeoSpatial conference (FOSS4G) which is a 4 day conference with some of the most innovative people from around the world in this space, and it would be well worth attending. http://2009.foss4g.org
I also want to briefly point out the importance of the industry/government action agenda established in 2001 in Australia. The action agenda was an important step towards developing Australia's Spatial Data Infrastructure. www.anzlic.org.au/get/2358011765.pdf
This was an initiative enthusiastically supported by the then Industry Minister Nick Minchin, illustrating the strong bipartisan support for the spatial industry. I remember at the time how hard the spatial industry worked to get this agenda up and running.
I also just want to mention that I was very pleased to learn that New Zealand has joined the Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information (CRC-si). This builds on the strong cross-Tasman relationship that we already have through the Australia New Zealand Land Information Council (ANZLIC), and New Zealand joining the Coperative Research Centre fopr Spatial Information (CRC-si) strenghtens the initiative to create a Australia/New Zealand market place for all spatial data and services. More information on this can be found on page 7 of the August edition of Landmark magazine, and I'll post a link in this speech on my website.

I look forward to learning more about what is happening in New Zealand, and also to do my part in fostering cross-Tasman relations in this space. We have many clever people in both our wonderful countries, and it would be great to collaborate and become a hub of excellence for the region, and the world.

Thankyou.

For more information see the:

We've made some changes

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 10:09:00 +1200

You may have noticed that we’ve made some changes to this website. For a starters, we’ve changed its name to focus it more on the New Zealand Geospatial Strategy. The other major change is that we’ve added blog-like functionality, where news, articles, case studies, events and presentations, and project data are published in categories, allowing for unmoderated feedback from the website’s visitors.

The changes are all part of our intention to make our work, ideas and communication more open, and to make it easier for people to engage with the Geospatial Strategy.

We’ll also be introducing guest entries from the geospatial community to contribute content to the website. If you’d like to contribute stories, email us your idea.

We hope you like these changes. Feedback welcome!

Adam Cooper
Geospatial Custodian (Acting)

Help Improve LINZ's Online Geodetic Services

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:00:00 +1200

Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) is looking at ways to improve the geodetic services they provide online.

To help with this, LINZ has created a quick questionnaire to give anyone who uses these services an opportunity to say why they use them, what they think of them, and how they could be improved.

"Our online geodetic services receive over 200,000 views every month, so making sure they are as usable and effective as possible is important," says National Geodesist, Graeme Blick. "We're interested in hearing from anyone who uses these services, whether for professional or recreational purposes."

The questionnaire only takes a couple of minutes, so if you do use these services please take part.

The questionnaire will be available online until the end of October 2009. It focuses in particular on PositioNZ, coordinate conversions, and the geodetic marks database. However, there is room for participants to make comments on other online geodetic services they use or would like to see provided.

Back to news.

NZGO Activity Update

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:00:00 +1200

This July update covers our recent involvement in:

Project activity under the Geospatial Strategy

Our three main areas of focus in this area have been around:

The report on the value of spatial information to the New Zealand economy

This report is being finalised and will be available on this site later in July. People from a wide range of sectors have provided valuable contributions to the report - a workshop held on 10 June was an important input into this. Some initial planning has been done around communicating the report findings. We'd like your input and ideas, and will be issuing a draft communications plan for comments before 24 July.

Standards

A report on geospatial data standards has been completed. It recommends a more active role for government in this area through the establishment of a geospatial data standards coordination function. Many thanks to the advisory group that had a crucial role in developing the report. The approach identified in the report will need to be endorsed by GEG, requires funding, and will need to be aligned with a number of related initiatives. GAC members have the opportunity to help identify options around this over the next couple of months. Alongside this, we have been working with the State Services Commission on a proposal to replace the existing e-GIF (e-Governnment Interoperability Framework) geospatial metadata standard (NZGMS) with the ANZLIC Metadata Profile v1.1, which is aligned with recent international standard changes. For more information on these initiatives, please contact us.

Online inventory

The Ministry of Research, Science and Technology has led some exploratory work looking at enabling improved discovery of geodata through simple online catalogues. Given that multiple services already exist and that a number of related initiatives are underway, the team is looking at what development options might compliment existing solutions. For example, there may be short term, tactical opportunities to improve data discoverability through existing, user friendly and easily accessible online data catalogues, such as www.opengovt.org.nz. This does not replace, and will ideally contribute to, longer term, strategic support for ANZLIC-endorsed infrastructure and tools that can form a robust national infrastructure.

Planning, structural changes & recruitment

We've been involved in contributing to LINZ planning activities - focused on making LINZ's commitment to the Geospatial Strategy more explicit. The latest LINZ Statement of Intent reflects the high level direction, and LINZ's commitment to establishing more of a leadership role in the geospatial arena.

As part of wider structural changes within LINZ, NZGO now sits within a new business group - Strategic Development and Support. This group will be led by Sue Gordon, who starts on 3 August 2009. Sue joins LINZ from the Ministry of Economic Development (MED) where she has been the Deputy Secretary Organisational Development and Support for six years. In this role, Sue has been responsible for organisational development strategy and the Communications, Finance and Facilities Management, Human Resources, Information Technology, Knowledge Management, Legal and Programme Management functions. Before joining MED, Sue previously held organisational development roles in Fonterra, including managing structural changes in early 2003 and previous work on a series of development initiatives. Prior to that, Sue led the organisational development practice area at Sheffield (Wellington). Sue has also held roles at the Ministry of Health and Housing New Zealand, and started her career at the Ministry of Defence. She has an honours degree in Political Studies from the University of Otago and an LLB from Victoria University.

For an update on other senior LINZ appointments, see the LINZ website.

Recruitment for the new role of Geospatial Custodian (working title only) is underway. Interviews have now been completed and a decision around appointment is likely to occur within the next two weeks.

Coordinating ANZLIC activity

LINZ Chief Executive Colin MacDonald attended an Australia New Zealand Land Information Council (ANZLIC) meeting in Sydney on Thursday 2 July 2009. Items covered at the meeting included a revised ANZLIC Strategic Plan, a proposal for an Australia New Zealand spatial infrastructure initiative and future work under the ANZLIC Resource Discovery and Access Program. ANZLIC National Office will be producing a summary from each Council meeting tailored for wide distribution. A copy from the July meeting will be placed on this site when it becomes available. Three geospatial metadata workshops related to the ANZLIC Resource Discovery and Access Program are being held in New Zealand in August.

Brokering LINZ support for the CRCSI-2 rebid

LINZ has committed to a closer association with the Collaborative Research Centre for Spatial Information (CRCSI) to more fully realise the benefits of spatial information in New Zealand. Established in 2003, CRCSI is an Australian joint venture that brings together the strengths of academia, government and industry with a powerful vision of realising a spatially enabled Australia. Encouraged by the results produced over the last six years, CRCSI has prepared a bid to create CRCSI-2, which will run from 2009-2017. This comprises over 96 partners and has raised over AUD$28 million of cash and AUD$101 million of in-kind support, to invest in spatial research, business development and education. The results of the bid will be known by August 2009. If approved, LINZ will work with interested New Zealand entities to establish a CRCSI ‘node' of activity in New Zealand. Our intentions in forming this partnership are to:

accelerate New Zealand's progress in developing a national spatial data infrastructure by leveraging CRCSI-2 activities in this area
actively identify and broker opportunities for New Zealand agencies (Government, Academia & CRIs) to participate in, and benefit from, CRCSI-2 activities. This activities are areas such as:
- natural resources management
- positioning
- remote sensing and feature extraction
- climate change
- health
- urban planning and development
- economic development.

LINZ CEO communicates LINZ's emerging plans around geospatial

LINZ Chief Executive Colin MacDonald gave the opening address at the 2nd Annual Geospatial Information System (GIS) Summit on 22 June. The focus of his speech was LINZ's commitment to taking a more active leadership role in geospatial information. He also spoke at the inaugural spatial@gov Conference in Canberra, Australia, on 15 June. In this address, Colin focused on New Zealand's geospatial sector, LINZ's role, and the opportunity for New Zealand and Australia to work more closely together in the geospatial arena.

What's your news?

We're making changes to this site in August that will make it easier for you to post your news, events or items of interest. In the meantime, feel free to contact us if you know of something that could be added to this site.

Back to news.

New Licence Improves Access to Environmental Data

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:00:00 +1200

There is new lease of life for two fundamental environmental databases.

Today the Ministry for the Environment made the Land Cover Database and the Land Environments New Zealand classification available online, for free and with an unrestricted licence. This is part of a strategy to make public sector data more accessible.

Both are spatial databases containing geographic boundaries and descriptions of the types of land cover and the environment they exist in. The databases are already used in central and local government for analysis and planning so that better management decisions for our environment can be made.

One reason for this move is recent government policy designed to promote better access to public sector information. The New Zealand Geospatial Strategy has a goal to improve access to spatial information and the State Services Commission is reviewing how public sector information is licensed for re-use.

A further reason is to get more value out of the investment the government made to create the databases. The real value comes from the uses the data is being put to. The more users there are, the more uses the data is put to, the greater the return.

The databases were developed over five years ago and were being distributed under licence by Terralink International and Landcare Research. Their distribution licence agreements were due to expire and the most suitable replacement was to use open content licences.

The licences in question are from the Creative Commons and were originally developed for distributing creative works such as music and photos over the internet. They have since been found suitable for licensing government information, including spatial databases.

A Creative Commons licence removes restrictions on the use of the data while allowing the Crown to retain its copyright over the databases. This encourages users to find new and innovative uses for the data. It even allows users to create derivative products and solutions that generate new revenue. Putting the data into more hands increases opportunities for companies to provide value-added services.

The second part of the access equation is online distribution. With the growth of the internet giving people the ability to download movies and TV programmes into their homes, the capacity exists for practitioners to download large spatial databases to their place of work. A new service was set up by Koordinates to provide just that capability. Koordinates provides a free distribution service for non-commercial data.

The Creative Commons licence is a licence to share. Expect the databases to turn up on other websites and applications.

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Moves to Free Australian Public Sector Information

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +1200

The Victorian Parliament's Economic Development and Infrastructure Committee in Australia tabled a report on 24 June calling for improved access to Victorian Government information.

The Committee was asked to report on the benefits and costs of maximising access to and use of Government information for commercial and non-commercial purposes.

The Committee's key recommendation is that the Victorian Government establish an Information Management Framework (IMF), with open access to Government information at no or marginal cost as the default position.

The Chair of the Committee, the Hon. Christine Campbell MP said, "Governments are the largest holders of information and opening this up for public use will drive innovation across Victoria."

"The Committee believes the economic and social benefits arising from the release of Victorian Government information at no cost will far outweigh the benefits of treating it as a commodity."

To facilitate discovery of Victorian Government information, the Committee recommended the development of a data directory to allow anyone to identify what information and data exists.

"A comprehensive and searchable register of materials held by the Government is essential to improve access to government information," Ms Campbell said.

The Committee was also asked to consider how flexible licensing systems would facilitate reuse of government information. It recommended the Victorian Government adopt the Creative Commons licensing model.

"Based on the concept of ‘free culture', Creative Commons provides a consistent and simple set of licensing options that allow the Victorian Government to make materials available for reuse on liberal terms," Ms Campbell said.

During the course of the Inquiry, the Committee received 80 written submissions and convened public hearings with 32 witnesses. The Committee's report contains 46 recommendations.

The Victorian Government has six months to respond to the Committee's recommendations.

A summary of the report's 46 recommendations are available in the Committee's media release (PDF 39KB).

You can also read the Committee's full report (HTML).

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