The LIAC Commissioners met at the University of Auckland for a two day meeting in July 2007.  They were disappointed that Hon. Judith Tizard was unable to join them due to illness and wished her a speedy recovery.  The Commissioners took advantage of the opportunities afforded them by a meeting located in Auckland.  They heard speakers from the Auckland area including Assoc Prof Paul Bonnington, E-Research Director from the University of Auckland, on the KAREN network; Dean Drake, from Auckland City Council, on the Auckland City Broadband Initiative; Jeff Shaw and Geoff Chamberlain, from North Shore City District council, on the North Shore Urban Fibre Network Plan; as well as Sue Cooper, from Auckland City Libraries, and Bruce Ralston, from the Auckland War Memorial Museum, on Documentary Heritage funding issues.  The LIAC Commissioners also attended the launch of the University of Auckland Library NZ & Pacific digital collections.  In addition, they were given a tour and explanation of infrastructure and learning services provided in the Kate Edger Information Commons at the University of Auckland.  The meeting and presentations brought to the Commissioners’ attention numerous ideas for reflection for LIAC (outlined below).

 

LIAC appreciates the government funding made available to the Library and Information Sector via Vote National Library in the recent budget round.  The Aotearoa New Zealand People’s Network is of great importance to all New Zealand and they are pleased to see its progress.  We strongly support the National Library as a key agency for creating strong exemplars, like Digital New Zealand, that demonstrate the potential for future growth.

 

LIAC expresses serious concern at the recent OECD figures on telecommunications investment which show New Zealand trailing badly.

 

 

LIAC recommends that an affordable, government funded national framework of fibre optic to the node is made accessible to all New Zealander’s in order to reach the earlier stated goal of ‘2 to 10 by 2010’.  We would like to see a national coordinated approach delivered through a next generation network like fibre optic cable and/or WiMAX. 

 

Research is increasingly a much more collaborative endeavour across many countries and organisations.   New Zealand is not able to participate fully in the rapidly changing research environment, particularly in regard to sharing large-scale resources globally, without access to a very high-capacity network to connect researchers globally as well as nationally.   The KAREN initiative is an excellent beginning but New Zealand researchers need similar capacity to the Australians in terms of connection with US networks if they are to participate in international research collaborations.  The network capacity that Australia has with the US runs through NZ but NZ researchers do not have the same level of access.  Closer strategic alignment of AARNET and REANNZ is required so that solutions can be developed, taking into account Telecom’s majority ownership of the Southern Cross cable.    

 

LIAC endorses the Internet New Zealand view that network peering (ie telecommunications companies like Telecom and TelstraClear exchanging traffic between each other's customers freely, and for mutual benefit) needs to be fully implemented if there is to be successful delivery of the New Zealand Digital Strategy and Digital Content Strategy.

 

LIAC is concerned about a number of issues relating to New Zealand’s documentary heritage.  Representatives from Auckland City Libraries and the Auckland War Memorial Museum presented to LIAC on the pressing issues facing heritage collections in New Zealand.

 

These heritage collections, which are of increasing value and importance, remain largely inaccessible to New Zealanders and are vulnerable for a variety of reasons including lack of funding for staffing to describe and digitise collections, as well as storage issues.  

 

The Commissioners are currently exploring a fresh approach to the issue and would like to hold a summit on heritage issues.

 

LIAC is currently developing a document outlining their Key Strategic Areas and work programme for the year which will focus on the public sphere (importance of the virtual civic space); New Zealand’s digital future; and Mātauranga Māori.

 

 

 

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