Aust-NZ

Mailing List
Our mailing list can be subscribed to here.

Introduction
The Open Source Geospatial Foundation, or OSGeo, is an international not-for-profit organisation whose mission is to support and promote the collaborative development of open geospatial technologies and data.

The foundation provides financial, organisational and legal support to the broader open source geospatial community. It also serves as an independent legal entity to which community members can contribute code, funding and other resources, secure in the knowledge that their contributions will be maintained for public benefit. OSGeo also serves as an outreach and advocacy organisation for the open source geospatial community, and provides a common forum and shared infrastructure for improving cross-project collaboration.

OSGeo has attracted a large on-line international community who work collaboratively to further the cause of open source and open data as it relates to spatial information.

The Australia – New Zealand local chapter of the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo-AustNZ) aims to further OSGeo's goal's and act as it's local representative within the Australian and New Zealand region.

OSGeo-AustNZ is in the process of incorporating as a Not For Profit organisation in Australia. In its short time in existence, OSGeo-AustNZ has attracted a significant community, including a number of key people in the regional spatial industry.

The community is proving to be an effective way to break down the traditional barriers that exist between different levels of government, research organisations and private enterprise. It is also encouraging to see an increasing degree of cooperation and cross fertilisation between Australian and New Zealand organisations.

Scope
The OSGeo-AustNZ community welcomes any individual with interest in open source spatial.

Mission
OSGeo-AustNZ establishes a focal point for liaison, outreach, and technical interests within the Australian and New Zealand Region. We also welcome interest from our neighbours, so please don't feel excluded.

The chapter is primarily organised around our mailing list. Discussions can be quite lively and have attracted a who's who of 'spatial' both nationally and internationally.

The aim of this mailing list is to try to break down the traditional silos that exist between organisations and get people excited, working together and talking about what can be done with open source spatial.

Given the geographic size of our region, we do not often get the chance to meet, but when the opportunity arises it is seized with both hands.

Getting Involved
OSGeo-AustNZ is an organisation that is guided by the interests of its volunteers. Get involved now and make a difference!

Events
FOSS4G-AU 2012 Nov 15-16th 2012

Past Events

 * WALIS International Forum 2008
 * http://2009.foss4g.org

Submission to Parliament of Victoria Inquiry
Submission for Australia's Parliament of Victoria's Inquiry Into Improving Access To Victorian Public Sector Information and Data Version 1.1: dated 22nd August 2008 by Bruce Bannerman, Cameron Shorter

The Submission may be found here.

Australian Historical Imagery - National Library of Australia
Dr Martin Woods, Curator of Maps at the National Library of Australia has highlighted the existence of a rich archive of historical imagery dating back 70 years to 1928.

We are providing a focal point, to help build the business case to capture this data as a public resource and make it available via a creative commons license.

See more here.

Presence at conferences

 * 2010-04, Sydney International Federation of Surveyors. Presentation: GeoSpatial Open Source for Surveyors presentation + booth during conference, plus handed out ~ 100 OSGeo Live DVDs to delegates.
 * 2009-10, Sydney FOSS4G_2009. The Free and Open Source conference for Geospatial. Aust-NZ organised then ran this international conference on behalf of OSGeo.
 * 2009-09, Adelaide. OSGeo stand at SSSI conference 29 Sept - 3 Oct see.
 * 2009-06, Canberra Spatial@Gov. OSGeo had a stand, and Cameron Shorter presented Geospatial Open Source in Business.
 * 2008-11 Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne. Open Source 1 day workshop roadshow. Coordinated by GITA. Presentations by LISAsoft, Autodesk, and Autodesk customers.
 * 2008-11 Brisbane, Jody Garnett from LISAsoft handed out a few hundred OSGeo Live DVDs at the CRCSI annual meeting. 500 Live DVDs were printed with the technical expertise of LISAsoft, and part funded by the CRCSI.
 * 2008-10, Wagga Wagga, [Mapped Out] Stand at Spatial conference for regional councils.
 * 2008-07 Gold Coast, Queensland SSI conference. OSGeo had a stand, presentations from Mark Leslie, LISAsoft on the Geospatial Open Source Stack, and Cameron Shorter, LISAsoft on Open Geospatial Business Case.
 * 2008-03, Brisbane, Queensland Spatial Conference
 * 3 hour workshop on Geospatial Open Source and Mapguide OpenSource
 * OSGeo Stand
 * 2008-03, Perth. WALIS Forum
 * An afternoon thread dedicated to everything "Open". Presentations are available from the website.
 * OSGeo stand
 * Early details at WALIS stand
 * 2007-05, Hobart. Spatial Sciences
 * OSGeo stand
 * 2007-01, Sydney. Linux Australia. 1 day stand and lightning talk about OSGeo software

FOSS4G 2009

 * http://2009.foss4g.org

The international conference for Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) showcases the technologies, standards, case studies and geospatial trends up-heaving today's IT industry.

Committee
As per votes here, the Committee for the Aust-NZ chapter is:
 * Cameron Shorter (chair)
 * Bruce Bannerman
 * Brent Wood
 * Tim Bowden
 * Shoaib Burq

Incorporation
OSGeo does not require local chapters be incorporated, and is in position to float local events.

We considered being incorporated, probably in Western Australia. The WA specific requirements can be summarized as: Legislation: WA incorporation legislation

Incorporation Guidelines
 * More than 5 members
 * Intention to apply for incorporation must be advertised between one and three months before the application is made.
 * No residency requirements
 * Keep accounts in such a state that they can be audited and presented to members at AGM
 * Register of members to be kept with residential or postal address.

History
Our original page (which contains our initial plans for an Austalian chapter, can be found at Old Aust chapter page - outdated