NZ allocates NZ$7.2m for open data

The New Zealand government has committed NZ$7.2 million ($6.9 million) towards providing more volumes of open government data.

The government has made the allocation as part of its commitment to moving towards an ‘open by default’ approach to government data.

New Zealand Statistics Minister Scott Simpson said the nation has been one of the early adopters of open data and is ranked seventh in the world out of 115 countries in the Open Data Barometer, a global measure of how governments are publishing and using open data for accountability, innovation and social impact. This compares to Australia’s fifth-place ranking.

“Open data helps businesses, councils, community and charitable groups as well as other data users make faster, better-informed decisions and help solve complex problems. High-quality data makes it easier for businesses to innovate and grow,” he said.

“Open data is good for an open democracy. More open data will also help everyone see how their tax dollars are being spent and how effective that spending is. The government is committed to making sure the data we collect is increasingly freely available in easy-to-use formats.”

Simpson said open data is de-identified to minimise privacy risks and does not include personal information such as names or addresses.

“Examples of how government data is being used more widely include the Homes.co.nz online tool to help home owners search for free property data and global mapping company HERE Maps helping to launch self-driving cars around the world.”

He added that open data will be crucial to ensuring New Zealand meets its Business Growth Agenda objectives by 2025 and its commitments under the international Open Government Partnership.

Image courtesy NASA.

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