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Land Information Newsletter

March 2006

About this Newsletter

Welcome to the second issue of the Department of Planning and Infrastructure's (DPI) Land Information Newsletter, where you will find updates on:

  • Aerial Photography
  • Satellite Imagery - DigitalGlobe
  • ILIS Road Show
  • ILIS Planning and Building
  • New ILIS Platform
  • NTLIS Web Site
  • NT Atlas and NT Spatial Data Directory
  • Spatial Dissemination Database
  • Naming of NT Suburbs and Localities
  • NT Google
  • GPS Base Stations

Aerial Photography

A tender for the whole of government 2006 Aerial Photography program has been awarded to United Photo and Graphic Services.  The details of all projects will be made available on the DPI web site as soon as possible.  In the interim further information can be obtained from Tony Gill on 8999 7028.

Satellite Imagery – DigitalGlobe

We have recently taken delivery of the 2005 DigitalGlobe satellite imagery of Katherine and the Coomalie imagery is currently being quality assured. Access to this imagery by agencies designated in the licence agreement can be obtained by contacting Doug Rannard of the Imagery Management Unit on 8999 6636.

ILIS Road Show

ILIS support staff visited Alice Springs between 13-15 March to roll out the new ILIS user interface (I2).  All users of ILIS were contacted during the last week of February and separate times allocated for DPI staff, other Government users, LTO clients and Corporate clients.

A problem identification and solving session was run on the morning of Monday 13 March. The new Stage 2 ILIS Planning business process was also available, in test format, for Planning and other interested staff to examine.

The new Stage 2 ILIS Planning business process will also be available, in test format, for Planning and other interested staff to examine.

Support for the I2 implementation in Katherine, Darwin and other centres is still being defined.

ILIS Planning and Building

Stage 2 ILIS Planning business processes are ready to undergo preliminary testing. These processes include new lodgment procedures, including scanning of documentation, electronic transmission and storage of submissions.

To support the Building Reform agenda, a new module is being developed for builders’ licensing.  Depending on commitments of the Registrars and Building Advisory staff, this may be available for testing in May.

New ILIS Platform Tender

The current ILIS hardware platform dates from 2003 and, following a significant increase in processing from new users and complexity of applications, is now somewhat over-stretched.  A tender for a completely new platform, including facilities management, has been issued and closes on 8 March.  The target to complete the procurement process and transition to the new platform is May 2006.

NTLIS Web Site

The last Newsletter envisaged a revised NTLIS Web site being completed by December.  However, this has been delayed pending the issue of new standards for all NT Government Web sites.  The standards are now available and work is proceeding in partnership with the DPI Web Team. 

NT Atlas and Spatial Data Directory

The NT Atlas and ILISMaps have a new ‘Link to BAMs’ button, allowing users to jump from either application to BAMs with the click of a mouse. To use it, zoom to your area of interest, activate the BAMs tool and click on the point you’d like to view in BAMs.

The NT Spatial Data Directory (NTSDD) is the place to go to find spatial data. To use the NTSDD, visit either ILISMaps or NT Atlas and click on ‘Spatial Data Search’. The number of records in the NTSDD is constantly growing, so give it a go to find data for your next project.  More information can be obtained from GIS Support on 8924 4230.

Spatial Dissemination Database

Spatial data can currently be downloaded via the ILISMaps download function in a range of GIS formats. To support the wave of GIS tools able to connect directly to spatial databases, the NTLIS unit is building an 'externally facing' database to provide a direct ‘point of truth’ for a range of DPI datasets.

This 'dissemination database' will be available to all inside NT government offering a current view of the layers and improving the usability of the data through consistent layer and attribute names and values. All layers in the database will also be available through ILISMaps, NT Atlas and through live web services. In addition, all layers are populated with ANZLIC metadata so that people can start to use the data with minimal prior knowledge. It is worth noting that several other major NTG agencies are going down this path including NRETA and the NT Geological Survey which is a good sign for spatial data interoperability in the NT.  For further information contact Ivan Price on 8924 4024.

Naming of Northern Territory Suburbs and Localities

Place names and street addresses are the primary means by which people, services and features are located and a key component of any unique address is a suburb or locality name. Organisations like Police, Fire and Emergency Services, Australia Post, Telstra, Australian Electoral Commission (AEC), Bureau of Statistics (ABS), Centrelink, automobile associations, national transport companies and international call centres cannot effectively operate without unique addresses for properties and are now demanding a ‘national address file’ which requires a national coverage of suburb and locality names. 

The Place Names Committee and DPI are now proposing that all of the Territory be divided into suburbs and localities, and that these be officially named under the Place Names Act.  All jurisdictions except the NT and South Australia have already completed similar projects.

Maps of proposed suburbs and localities are currently being prepared and a six week public consultation process will be launched in mid-March 2006 with a view to final recommendations being made to Minister Burns in June 2006. The proposals will be available for public distribution and comment in the form of a CD, display booklets and on the Place Names web site (http://www.placenames.nt.gov.au).   For more information contact Stuart Duncan on 8999 6444.

NT Google – coming soon

The NTLIS unit recently hosted an engineer from Google HQ in California who assisted with the installation of the production NT Google Earth environment. It was interesting meeting someone who works for one of the world's most famous companies. Of particular interest were the stories about the replaxed corporate culture, access to free food and recreation and dedicated bus network to pick up and set down employees, including leather seats and wireless internet!!!

The version of Google Earth that the NT Government will be deploying shortly will support local address searching and will be able to display a variety of NT datasets. NTLIS are also investigating methods for making the background image mosaic available to applications outside of Google Earth including ILISMaps and the various GIS desktop packages.  .  For further information contact Ivan Price on 8924 4024.

GPS Base Stations

Land Information is in the process of establishing two GPS Base Stations in the Darwin area – one on the Supreme Court Building and one on the Palmerston City Council Building.  Funds are being sought to establish a third Base station in Darwin and two in Alice Springs.  If successful, these would provide good coverage for positioning to centimeter accuracy over the two main urban centres.

The Surveyor-General is also participating in a national initiative that, if successful in obtaining Commonwealth funding, will see a network of Base Stations established across Australia providing the capability to deliver centimeter positioning.  It’s early days yet and a lot needs to be done in terms of policy and process just for making the Darwin service available.  There will be more on this in the next Newsletter, but in the interim Rob Sarib on 8999 6081 can provide more details.