February 2007 eNews

Highlights include Local Government GIS Group Collaboration Portal, Routable Road Centreline Network, SLIP update, Curtin University of Technology courses, Bill Charters receives an AM

What’s Happening in the WALIS Community?

Custodianship Policy Review
The WALIS Office has requested that agency custodians nominate datasets to be approved as official custodial datasets through WALIS Council. The WALIS Office will also be reviewing the WALIS-Endorsed Custodial Datasets list which specifies potential future datasets that may be approved as official custodial datasets. Please contact Dan Sandison at dan.sandison@walis.wa.gov.au or (08) 9273 7037 if your data has been incorrectly listed or named, or if any data that you would like considered in the future is missing from the list.

SLICP 06-07
The SLICP for 06-07 is on track. SLICP Status Reports are available on the SLICP website.

SLICP 07/08
The State Land Information Capture Program (SLICP) for the 2007-2008 financial year is now closed. Applications are being compiled and a SLICP working team will meet shortly to establish the program priorities for the year. The results will then be tabled at WALIS Council for sign off and the flight programming contract can be set in place.

For further information, contact the WALIS Office at slicp@walis.wa.gov.au, or Dan Sandison at dan.sandison@walis.wa.gov.au or (08) 9273 7037.

Local Government GIS Collaboration Portal
The Local Government GIS Collaboration Portal was launched on 30November 2006, and is a website dedicated to all things GIS in local government. It is a useful place for all GIS users employed in local government to keep up-to-date with relevant spatial events, find GIS contacts in different Councils, undertake industry surveys of interest, and discuss issues relevant to GIS in a local government environment. It will be an especially useful first point of contact for those new to GIS in local government. The site is hosted and designed through WALIS but is administered by local government GIS users, so that Council GIS users really have the power to make the site their own. The site can be accessed at http://www.walis.wa.gov.au/collaboration/team-spaces/lg-gis/. It is still in its infancy so there is a lot to be done but it is up to local government GIS users to make it as good as it can be. Please send any comments or suggestions to Drew France at drew.france@joondalup.wa.gov.au. A big thank you to Tessa Barkman at WALIS, for her time and effort into getting the site off the ground, and to Luke Handcock at Town of Cottesloe and Drew France at City of Joondalup (ex Town of Mosman Park), for their involvement on behalf of local government.

Drainage Project
The drainage project will be presented to WALIS Council at the 21 February meeting. A paper will also be presented to the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia (IPWEA) conference in Perth in March. Future project stages have yet to be determined, but it appears there is merit in continuing to drive this program forward to improve spatial drainage data.

For further information, contact Dan Sandison at dan.sandison@walis.wa.gov.au or (08) 9273 7037.

WA Atlas Migration
A preliminary interface has been developed and testing of the functionality will commence shortly. The WALIS Office will be organising representative agencies to test the early functionality to provide feedback.

For further information, contact Dan Sandison at dan.sandison@walis.wa.gov.au or (08) 9273 7037, or Karen Barns at Karen.Barns@walis.wa.gov.au or (08) 9273 7093.

Interragator+
User Acceptance Testing (UAT) in the Interragator test environment is due to be carried out mid February. Testing is being undertaken initially by three agencies. It is anticipated that data verification by other agencies can commence from 5 March and be completed by mid May 2007.

For further information, contact Karen Barns at Karen.Barns@walis.wa.gov.au or (08) 9273 7093.

Cadastre Review
A paper discussing “Lot Synchronisation” has been released for comment. At this stage, it would be preferred if feedback can provide information on if the paper is on the right track rather than offering solutions to the problems listed. Future work will focus on the solutions; however, the paper is focused on definition of the problems at this stage.

For further information, contact Dan Sandison at dan.sandison@walis.wa.gov.au or (08) 9273 7037.

Routable Road Centreline Network
WALIS is seeking the potential users of a Routable Road Centreline Network (RRCN) to provide the detailed specification for the agreed extra attribution required. A draft specifications document has been prepared by FESA (visit http://www.walis.wa.gov.au/projects/RRCN/ and click on the link) and a feedback meeting is likely to be held by the end of February.

For further information or comments on the paper, please contact Dan Sandison at dan.sandison@walis.wa.gov.au or (08) 9273 7037.

Career Opportunity – Team Leader Geospatial Products, Level 5
Are you a Mapping Science professional looking for a great career opportunity?
The Information Access Division at Landgate (previously DLI) is seeking an individual who is keen to make a difference in the delivery of Geospatial Products & Services. You will enjoy challenges, be comfortable in a changing environment and should have the skills to:

develop solutions for a variety of customer requests
operate ESRI & ER Mapper applications
work with a range of raster & vector datasets
implement new geospatial product initiatives
lead a small motivated team delivering customised products.

If you think you have the technical smarts and leadership qualities for this customer focused team, please apply.

For more information contact Kerry Smyth, Manager Geospatial Products & Service, Landgate on (08) 9273 7202 or kerry.smyth@landgate.wa.gov.au

The advertising period has been extended to 12 March 2007.

SSI and WinGIT present the 2007 Launch Cocktail Function
The Spatial Sciences Institute (SSI) and Women in Geographic Information Technology (WinGIT) are organising a joint event to promote the spatial industry and launch the 2007 events calendar of these associations.

The SSI and WinGIT 2007 Launch will be a cocktail function, with Jo Harrison-Ward, Executive Director of FESA, as the keynote speaker. Jo will be speaking on the use of spatial data in preparing and responding to emergencies, particularly bushfires. There will also be short talks from WinGIT, SSI and SSI Young Professionals.

Date: Thursday 22 February 2007
Time: 5.30pm - 8.00pm
Venue: King Street Room, Rydges Hotel (cnr Hay & King St, Perth)
Cost: $30
CPD: 2 points
Kindly sponsored by ESRI Australia and NGIS

With the success and growth of SSI, Young Professionals and WinGIT, this inaugural event is a great opportunity to celebrate the achievements of spatial professionals, so please promote this event to your colleagues and the wider spatial community. Guests and Partners are most welcome so come along for a great night out to kick off the new year!

To register, contact (08) 9386 6601 or email ssiwa@iinet.net.au.

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WALIS Stakeholders in the News

Latest Achievements for the Shared Land Information Platform
A review of the governance of the Shared Land Information Platform is set to result in new arrangements for both SLIP and the WALIS Community. The WALIS Executive Policy Committee, the SLIP Executive Committee and the e-Government sub-Committee have agreed to the new governance and reporting arrangements to more closely align SLIP and WALIS objectives. This is good news for both the SLIP program and the WALIS community as a whole. It means that WALIS will take the leading role in ensuring that existing outcomes identified in the original SLIP Implementation Plan are delivered, as well as ensuring that WALIS leverages its considerable experience and knowledge to develop new and exciting business opportunities based on SLIP. This will also assist the alignment and harmonisation of existing WALIS programs and projects with SLIP deliverables.

The SLIP program is progressing well in all of its existing “focus areas” and together with WALIS is currently developing new business scenarios in the areas of industry and resources, health, and demographics.

Electronic Land Development Process (eLDP)
(Lead Agency: Department for Planning & Infrastructure)
The eLDP scope of work has been completed, delivering a fully costed business case for the development of an end-to-end land development system that is underwritten by a comprehensive feasibility study and successful prototype referral system. The decision regarding the business case is expected from Cabinet soon. If approved and funded, eLDP will make a critical contribution to streamlining and improving the land development process and improve the effective and efficient delivery of new commercial, industrial and residential land.

Emergency Management (EM)
(Lead Agency: Fire & Emergency Services Authority)
The SLIP Emergency Management team is progressing well. The EmerGeo pilot application, now involves multiple clients being installed, supported and used at FESA, DEC and WAPOL. It is expected that this will extend into key local governments in the near future.

The SLIP EM program is also continuing work in the areas of HAZMAT, LANDSAR and Bushfire Management. With bushfire season upon us, SLIP EM’s work includes analysis and testing of facilities to provide a spatial view of arson incidents, as well as facilities to provide emergency management workers with remote access to digital spatial information.

Plans are also well established for the ongoing improvement of the Emergency Services Directory, a key EM product. Proposed improvements for the South West Directory include: consistency of colours; data naming; data dictionary; specifications; and legends and grids. Options for improving the durability of the ESD books are also being investigated, and a cost-benefit analysis is underway.

Natural Resource Management (NRM)
(Lead Agency: Department of Agriculture)
The SLIP Natural Resource Management team has been busy recruiting staff and planning for its future development, now that Commonwealth funding has been approved and received. This has included the appointment of officers in regional areas, as well as continuing to work with regional groups to facilitate surveying. Feedback on the NRM Info portal has also be received from regional areas, with results currently being collated.

Moving forward in the first half of 2007, the NRM team are planning to continue to conduct training for NRM Info and integrated upload facility for Regional investment information – integrated with NRM Info (workshops planned with South-West Region – Peel-Harvey and Blackwood sub-regions and Rangelands – Kalgoorlie).

New information products (Foreshore Assessments, Invasive Species) will also be integrated into NRM Info.

Interest Enquiry (formerly Register of Interests)
(Lead Agency: Landgate)
A review of Interest Enquiry in mid-2006 has lead to an overall improvement in the way that information on land interests may be delivered to industry and the community in general. Interest Enquiry (IE) will now have a more spatially focussed user interface, allowing users to define graphically the areas of land in which they are interested and then discovering a number of interests held over that land by various government agencies. This means that IE will integrate tightly with the SLIP map viewing application and provide a much more intuitive interface. In what has been a strategic analysis and decision, this has lead to reappraisal of the original timeframes for IE, but represents a move forward into a more spatially oriented application that will provide ongoing benefits into the future.

The IE program has commenced development and the first release of an “Interests Dictionary” is expected in May 2007, with a subsequent September 2007 release of the “spatialised” Interest Enquiry pilot system.

The Enabling Framework (EF)
(Lead Agency: Landgate)
With the connection to date of 11 government agencies, including a “Virtual Agency”, the Enabling Framework is well positioned for the deployment of its core applications, Catalogue (Interragator+) and MapViewer (WA Atlas), in the first and second quarters of 2007, respectively.

WA Atlas will replace the existing “WALIS WA Atlas” and will be built on state-of-art technology. It is anticipated that the core Map Viewer product (iDelve) will be used in the delivery of other SLIP-based applications, such as Interest Enquiry.

Interragator+ replaces the existing WALIS Interragator and will allow the simple discovery of land information datasets across government, integrate with a map viewing capacity to view those datasets, and allow agencies to dynamically update information about those datasets (“metadata”). This will allow users to quickly and easily identify the most up-to-date data they require as well as providing other useful information concerning the data attributes.

For further details on SLIP, refer to the SLIP Collaboration Portal.

Curtin University of Technology Courses
Postgraduate GIScience and GIS/Surveying courses from Curtin University are available on-campus or through online distance studies. The courses are organised as a combination of lectures, student discussions and presentations, practical exercise, individual research and study, and a student research paper able to be completed on-campus or via fully online distance study, and are next available from 26 February to 1 June 2007.

Geocomputation
This course introduces concepts and applications of geocomputational methods and techniques. It is aimed at professionals and postgraduate students who want to learn how to use spatial data and knowledge to address complex geographic phenomena and problems.

Applications of GPS
This course provides a basic introduction to the principles of positioning and navigation with GPS. It mainly focuses on absolute positioning commonly in use for GIS applications, but also provides comprehensive information of other techniques and equipment. Both a basic introduction into GPS technology as well as important related subjects such as error sources, accuracy and coordinate and mapping systems are covered.

Research Methodology
This unit covers the broad spectrum of conducting and managing research in science and engineering disciplines. It covers the stages and progression of research projects, research problem identification, design and preparation of research proposals, hypothesis formulation and testing, experimental design and questionnaire design. Quantitative data analysis methods, the history and philosophy of science, ethics and fraudulent behaviour in research and the dissemination of research results are also covered.

Visit http://www.spatial.curtin.edu.au/Curtin_masters_online_units_2007.pdf for more information.

StreetExpress - the Smart Way to Find your Way around Town
Perth Streetsmart Street Directory is now available in CD format and offers more than twice the coverage of the traditional hardcopy street directory. Streetsmart StreetExpress 2007 covers 451 road maps combined into a single seamless image, with 31 enlargements including Rottnest Island, Perth, Fremantle and Mandurah CBDs plus arterial roads. The user friendly interface allows for easy navigation between maps, giving fast access to maps, streets, suburbs and facilities. Users need only to type in the name of a street or destination and StreetExpress will identify its location on a map. StreetExpress 2007 also measures distances to be travelled and offers users the opportunity to personalise their map, by providing a facility to draw and add text. Maps can also be printed in colour or black and white.

http://www.landgate.wa.gov.au/docvault.nsf/web/MR_DLI_15012007/$FILE/MR_DLI_15012007.pdf

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Australian Angle

Bill Charters Receives AM
Bill Charters was recognised in the 2007 Australia Day Honours List. He was awarded the Member of the Order of Australia for service to engineering through the research and development of renewable energy technology, to international relations, to tertiary education, and to the Australian Co-operative Research Centre programme. “Bill had a key role in the development of the successful bid to establish the CRC for Spatial Information, he chaired its interim Management Committee and he was the founding Chairman of the Governing Board of the CRCSI for its first three years,” said current Board Chair Mary O’Kane. “We all owe a lot to Bill for his wonderful and constructive input to the CRCSI during its formation and its establishment, and are very lucky to have his ongoing input as an independent Director”. Congratulations Bill, on a richly deserved recognition of your achievements!

http://www.crcsi.com.au/pages/news.aspx?NewsArticleID=350&Display=1

National Geochemical Survey Launched
A new project aimed at unravelling the geochemical composition of the regolith at the national scale has recently been approved under the Onshore Energy Security Initiative (OESI). The primary aim of the new National Geochemical Survey of Australia is to provide actual measurements of uranium and thorium concentrations that can lead to discoveries of economic deposits, as well as of other elements useful in targeting hot granites as potential geothermal energy resources. As such, the project will add value to other OESI projects focussing on radiometrics, airborne electro-magnetics and geothermal resources.

The National Geochemical Survey project will adopt a cost-effective ultra-low density sampling approach to collect surface and near-surface transported regolith materials at approximately 1600 sites. Sample collection, preparation and analysis protocols have been established during pilot projects carried out in recent years by Geoscience Australia and the Cooperative Research Centre for Landscape Environments and Mineral Exploration. National Geoscience Agreements between Geoscience Australia and State/NT agencies will be fundamental to the success of the project and negotiations will start in February 2007.

For further information, please email Patrice de Caritat at Patrice.deCaritat@ga.gov.au, or phone (02) 6249 9378.

Prime Minister Announces $10 billion Water Initiative
The Prime Minister, John Howard, and the Minister for Environment, Malcolm Turnbull, have announced a National Plan for Water Security worth $10 billion. The initiative is to include an allocation of some $480 million for measurement and other data issues. Indeed, the Initiative specifically mentions spatial data as a fundamental plank.

Find out more from ASIBA: http://www.asiba.com.au/static/index.php.

New Management Tool for East Australian Graziers
CSIRO has just released a new real-time information tool to help graziers in eastern Australia better cope with the impact of climate variations on pasture production. Primary producers from Rockhampton in Queensland across to Ceduna in South Australia and down to Tasmania can now access newly released satellite pasture growth data from the Pastures from Space website: www.pasturesfromspace.csiro.au. The Pasture Growth Rate (PGR) data on the website is from the previous weeks’ climate records and satellite images which are merged to calculate how fast the pasture is growing at the national, regional, farm and paddock scale.

PGR supports farmers in making management decisions like grazing rotation, feed budgeting, fertilizer application and other ‘precision’ techniques. Because the data is on the web, near real-time decisions can be made.

For more information, visit CSIRO: http://www.csiro.au/news/ps2r0.html.

Australia Taking the Lead on Tsunami Preparations
The Bureau of Meteorology is hosting an intensive two week international Tsunami workshop in Melbourne to train Indian Ocean scientists and help the region to plan for future Tsunami events. “The primary aim of the workshop is for training in a special tsunami inundation modeling program. The ‘ComMIT’ software program enables the construction of tsunami scenarios,” said Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Greg Hunt. “Scientists have mapped out areas of earth’s crust where tsunamis are frequently generated. Using the tsunami propagation model, scientists can produce models of all potential tsunamis generated along these areas, which are known as scenario databases. By the end of the two weeks, workshop delegates will have created scenarios specific to their countries.”
http://www.environment.gov.au/minister/ps/2007/pubs/psmr16jan07.pdf

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News from Around the Globe

2100: a world of wild weather
Think back to the hottest summer you can remember. Now imagine a summer like that every year. For those of us who are still around by the end of the 21st century, this is what we can expect, according to a new index that maps the different ways that climate change will hit different parts of the world. The map reveals how much more frequent extreme climate events, such as heatwaves and floods, will be by 2100 compared with the late 20th century. It is the first to show how global warming will combine with natural variations in the climate to affect our planet.

“We hope it will help policy-makers gain a quick overview of the scientific facts without getting lost in the detail,” says Michèle Bättig of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, who created the index with colleagues after talking to delegates at the 2005 UN Climate Change Conference in Montreal, Canada. The index allows anyone to compare the severity of the predicted effect of climate change on a chunk of the Amazon rainforest, for example, with its effect on a corner of Antarctica.

For more information, visit New Scientist: http://environment.newscientist.com/article/mg19325874.000?DCMP=NLC-nlet
Source: New Scientist

OGC Joins W3C to help add Geospatial to the Web
The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) recently became a member of the World Wide Web Consortium, (W3C, http://www.w3.org/) a standards organisation that develops interoperable technologies (specifications, guidelines, software, and tools) to lead the Web to its full potential. The OGC is participating in a W3C incubator activity focusing on semantic geospatial issues. W3C Incubator Activities facilitate rapid development, on a time scale of a year or less, of new Web-related concepts. The OGC and the W3C seek to collaboratively add geospatial functionality to the emerging Semantic Web in a manner that is consistent with existing and future OGC standards. OGC standards are the product of a successful 12-year open, international, and consensus-driven effort to overcome obstacles to geospatial interoperability.

Interested parties are invited to participate in the Geospatial XG public mailing list (http://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/public-xg-geo/). OGC's members are also invited to provide input on W3C issues via the OGC W3C Liaison, Raj Singh (rsingh@opengeospatial.org).

For more information, visit http://www.opengeospatial.org/pressroom/pressreleases/660.

Canadian-US Science Pact to Improve Monitoring of Land Cover, Biodiversity and Climate Change
Natural Resources Canada and the US Department of the Interior’s Geological Survey have launched a high-tech satellite mapping initiative that can better monitor changes in the combined land cover of two of the world’s largest nations. Using infrared, radar relief and other remote-sensing techniques, the partnership will produce integrated information that will help natural resources managers better assess the health of landscapes, cross-border wildland fire risks, changes in biodiversity and the effects of climate change on permafrost. This improved data will enable managers to develop more effective land-management policies. “This agreement reflects a lengthy history of joint research and mutual collaboration between our two countries,” said the Honourable Gary Lunn, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources. “Working together, this partnership will allow us to share information and maximize our scientific knowledge so that we can better monitor the changes of our land, including the permafrost areas in the North.”

Read more at Natural Resources Canada: http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/media/newsreleases/2007/200710_e.htm.
Source: Natural Resources Canada

Tokyo Department Store Begins RFID Cosmetics Trial
Shoppers at a Tokyo department store have a chance to get help with their make-up as part of a three week-long test of RFID technology that began on 26 January. The Mitsukoshi store in Tokyo’s Ginza district is host to the trial in which RFID tags have been attached to lipstick, eye shadow and blush. In one part of the trial, a kiosk can provide customers with a simulation of what they would look like wearing various make-up. The 19 items available all have RFID tags attached and shoppers just need wave them over a sensor for the simulator to detect which product has been selected, then it’s up to a computer to do the rest. The trial also seeks to keep track of which samples are most frequently selected by shoppers browsing for products. Each time one of 49 tagged items is removed from a display stand the system takes note. The information is compiled into marketing data for the store.

For more information, visit IT World Canada: http://www.itworldcanada.com/Pages/Docbase/ViewArticle.aspx?id=idgml-e50edb75-56a5-4bac-b7ec-0c1e6edcca42&Portal=&sub=1517679
Source: IT World Canada Inc.

BlueSky Maps Urban Heat Patterns across the UK
BlueSky has been awarded contracts to create detailed thermal maps for eight local authorities across the UK. The thermal mapping will be used to identify buildings with high heat loss, and therefore potentially poor insulation, prioritise remedial action and meet government targets for increasing energy efficiency and energy conservation reporting. BlueSky will capture the thermal surveys using an airborne thermal infrared sensor, a modified version of the technology used by the military for night vision. When completed, the surveys will produce more than 1,500 square kilometres of detailed property-level heat mapping.

For more information, visit http://www.bluesky-world.com/pressreleases/html/2007/170107ThermalWins.html.
Source: BlueSky International Limited

Google Adds Maps to Books
Google was busy at the end of January wrapping up the month by mixing Google Books with Google Maps. Locations listed in certain books will have a link to that same location in Google Maps, so you can check it out on a map. It’s kind of cool, I guess, at least with some of the titles, like Around the World in Eighty Days and The Travels of Marco Polo.

Visit Gizmodo for more information: http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/google/google-adding-maps-to-books-ads-to-follow-231988.php.
Source: Gizmodo

The OGC Seeks Participants for Ocean Science Interoperability Experiment
The Open Geospatial Consortium Inc. (OGC) launched an Interoperability Experiment on ocean science interoperability on 29 January 2007. The initiators of the experiment seek participation by other organisations interested in interoperability among information systems used in ocean research. The Oceans Science Interoperability Experiment will promote understanding of various OGC Web Service (OWS) standards now implemented in various portal applications in the Ocean-Observing community, advance interoperability demonstrations for Ocean Science application areas, and harden software implementations. The final product of the experiment will be a candidate OGC Best Practices document for the broader ocean-observing community. The Best Practices document will show how to use OGC specifications in marine-specific applications to improve discovery, access and use of Web-accessible ocean science data and services.

Contact Carl Reed at creed@opengeospatial.org for further details.
http://www.opengeospatial.org/pressroom/pressreleases/667

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Upcoming Events

SSI, WinGIT and SSI YP 2007 Launch Cocktail Function
22 February 2007, King Street Room, Rydges Hotel, cnr Hay and King Streets, Perth
Women in Geographic Information Technology and Spatial Sciences Institute are holding a joint function to launch the new year on Thursday 22 February. Jo Harrison-Ward, CEO of FESA, will outline the way in which her organisation uses spatial information to prepare for and respond to emergencies, in particular bushfires, which are particularly topical at present. There will also be some short talks from WinGIT and SSI members outlining plans for the coming year. Guests and partners are most welcome. Registration fees are tax deductible and cost $30 per person. Email ssiwa@iinet.net.au for more information and to register.

GSWA 2007
22 February 2007, Esplanade Hotel, Fremantle
The GSWA 2007 Seminar and Poster Display will be held following the RIU Explorers Conference. The seminar will include a panel discussion with registrants providing input into future activities of the Geological Survey WA, technical presentations highlighting the latest developments and regional mapping programs, demonstrations of products and delivery of exploration data. For more information and to register, visit http://www.doir.wa.gov.au/documents/gswa/gsdPub_open_day_brochure_2007.pdf.

2007 GITA Auckland Seminar
27 February 2007, Rendezvous Hotel, Auckland, New Zealand
The theme for the 2007 GITA Auckland Seminar is “Spatial Awareness in our Business: Achieving Better Outcomes”. For more information and to register, visit http://www.gita.org.au/Events/SeminarsWorkshops/tabid/1032/Default.aspx.

GSWA Information Sessions
7 March, Mineral House, 100 Plain St, East Perth
(further sessions available on 11 July, 15 August and 14 November)
Geological Survey WA invites you to attend one of their free afternoon training sessions in their computer training facility where online systems and map-viewing software will be demonstrated. This is your opportunity to try these services for yourself and chat with the people who create and manage them. Sessions run for 2 hrs (Minerals Sessions) or 1 hr 30 mins (Petroleum Sessions) commencing at 3:00 pm. For more information and to register, visit http://www.doir.wa.gov.au/GSWA/562A5BE6F65E4BD7B525DA4C491FDC6E.asp.

NGIS and CSIRO talk WRON
9 March 2007, University of Technology Sydney, 1 Broadway, Ultimo, NSW
1:30 – 4:00 pm
NGIS Sydney will host an interactive seminar headlined by Chief of CSIRO Land and Water Dr Rob Vertessy talking on the future of spatial information management in Australia. Dr Vertessy leads a discussion on WRON (Water Resources Observation Network), an information system tracking water usage in Australia now and into the future. Find out what the future holds for our water supply and the changes in water entitlements. iintegrate consultant Mark Carniello will also unveil the latest innovation in Geosamba technology during this interactive session. Focussing on trends in the use of spatial information management, the discussion will delve into current issues driving the pace of geospatial technology development. To RSVP, contact sydney@ngis.com.au by COB AEDST, 2 March 2007.
http://www.ngis.com.au/News/200.aspx

International Emergency Management Conference
13-16 March 2007, Adelaide Convention Centre, Adelaide, South Australia
The International Emergency Management Conference and Exhibition is the premier conference in Australia for specialists involved with emergency management. “Reaching Beyond Catastrophe – The Return Journey” will have a broad inter-agency appeal with a challenging and varied program featuring a range of excellent keynote speakers from Australia and overseas. Coinciding with the conference will be the emergency management trade exhibition. The exhibition is expected to feature an impressive display of over 100 leading companies from all facets of the emergency management industry. For more information, visit the conference website.

Map Middle East 2007
9-11 April 2007, Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Dubia, UAE
The Middle East region, with the encouraging developmental setting, adequate infrastructure and growing investments in this region, holds a promising future for GeoSpatial Technologies and their applications. The theme for Map Middle East 2007, the third annual conference and exhibition on geospatial technologies and their applications, is “GeoSpatial Convergence – The Next Step”. For more information, visit the conference website.

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Interesting Website of the Month

Worldmapper: the world as you've never seen it
Worldmapper is a collection of world maps, where territories are re-sized on each map according to the subject of interest. In the Total Population map, the size of each territory shows the relative proportion of the world's population living there. Territory size shows the proportion of worldwide wealth in the GDP Wealth map.
http://www.worldmapper.org/index.html

Disclaimer: The information contained in this newsletter is provided for general information purposes. It does not constitute professional or expert advice and you must not use or rely upon it for that purpose. WALIS and the State of Western Australia, do not guarantee and do not accept responsibility for the accuracy, currency, completeness and reliability of the information contained in this newsletter. The opinions contained in the information do not necessarily reflect the opinions of WALIS or the State of Western Australia. Links to other Internet sites are provided for your convenience only and they do not constitute an endorsement, approval or recommendation of the material contained in those other Internet sites. It is your responsibility to evaluate the relevance, accuracy, completeness and reliability of material contained in those other Internet sites.