Open data benefits public and economy

Internal Affairs Minister Chris Tremain says a second report into the Declaration on Open and Transparent Government shows government departments are making excellent progress releasing their public data for re-use on data.govt.nz.

Departments were surveyed on progress made over the past year in adopting the Declaration.

“The report shows 10 departments are now fully compliant with the Declaration and 16 plan to take it on board in 2013/14.  This brings the total uptake to 84 per cent which is a great result over such a short time,” says Mr Tremain.

“The findings show the re-use of significant public information is providing new business opportunities.  An unexpected example is the re-use of real time traffic density data released by NZTA and used by ANZ Bank in their “ANZ Truckometer” to predict GDP growth.

“By agencies sharing data they are reducing duplication and saving money.  A great case of this is in Christchurch where engineers and surveyors are able to directly access and re-use aerial imagery from CERA’s map service for planning and recovery.

“Another good example is local government and independent researchers using household travel survey data from the Ministry of Transport to inform transport and district planning policies.

“Open data doesn’t mean that everything is open. There is still a responsibility to maintain privacy and security for restricted information and that is a key focus for the Government.

“This programme will help achieve the Government’s better public service targets that New Zealand businesses have a one-stop online shop for all government advice and support and that New Zealanders can complete their transactions with the Government easily in a digital environment.”

The report can be found at www.ict.govt.nz