Spatial information not being exploited

26 August 2009, 9:23am

New Zealand is losing $1.3 million in productivity a day because it is failing to exploit the benefits of spatial information, a report shows. (See link below to get the report)

The Government should give the public access to basic spatial data to help reverse the loss of $500m a year, it said.

Spatial information is data that can be fixed to a certain location, such as mapping data, and is commonly used with global positioning system technology.

The report, commissioned by Land Information New Zealand, the Conservation Department and the Economic Development Ministry, estimated the use of spatial information added $1.2 billion in productivity-related benefits to the economy last year - just over 0.6 per cent of gross domestic product.

But barriers to the adoption of spatial information meant a potential $481m in productivity-related benefits was lost in 2008, costing the Government $100m in potential revenue, it said.

Barriers included "problems in accessing data, inconsistency in data standards and a general lack of skills and knowledge relating to modern spatial information technology".

As it was a "relatively low-cost intervention", the Government and local authorities should give the public access to basic spatial data for little or no charge. Any costs of doing so would probably be outweighed by productivity and tax gains. The Government held large amounts of spatial data in its departments and ministries, but in many cases it was not shared. Retailers could use spatial data to profile customers and target marketing, while authorities could use it to plan and build transport systems to reduce fuel emissions and costs. The Government should help develop a "spatial data infrastructure", the report said.

The Spatial Industries Business Association's chairman, Steve Critchlow, said that would bring together the disparate databases holding spatial data, making it easy to find and access. The cost of developing this infrastructure was unknown, he said. "The report suggests that it's worth spending $100m and that you'd immediately get $500m of benefit . . . it's cost neutral.

"We don't need new technology or research and development, we just need that buy-in from Government."

Local Government New Zealand development and infrastructure manager Geoffrey Swain said it had been working with government agencies to share spatial information, but talks had foundered on issues such as who would own the intellectual property and bear the data collection costs.

Making that information available would not be low cost. "Councils maintain extensive databases and the software and hardware and technical staff to support these are costly. If this information is seen as a valuable commodity then it's reasonable to expect that there would be costs attached to accessing it."
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Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson said spatial data could benefit all sectors. Government departments would make it publicly available but how that would happen was yet to be determined. There would be costs involved, but the Government should bear the brunt of those. "I'd like to see as much freely available as possible."

The association has proposed a conference in November so the Government and industry could begin work to develop an infrastructure.

The report was prepared by Australian consultancy Acil Tasman and consultants from Sinclair, Knight and Merz in Wellington and Ecological Associates in Auckland.

Source: article by Claire McEntee in The Dominion Post on 26/08/2009, published on the stuff.co.nz online news site (see links below).

Read the full article at stuff.co.nz news site

Spatial Information in the New Zealand Economy - Realising Productivity Gains report

Geo: International