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Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson today announced Headlong Peak, in Mount Aspiring National Park, is to be renamed Mount Tewha.

The decision confirms a recommendation made by the New Zealand Geographic Board. The move will see the name Headlong Peak assigned to its true location, an unnamed feature just north-west of the soon-to-be renamed Mount Tewha.

Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson today announced his decision to assign Lake Te Kōhua, Mount Tūwhakarōria and Tapuae-o-Uenuku / Hector Mountains as official names for three alpine features in Central Otago.

The decision confirms recommendations made by the New Zealand Geographic Board.

“Today’s announcement is the culmination of a process that began in 2011, when I rejected the place name proposal Te Kōhua Peak.

Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson today announced mariners can now access free online navigational charts in a new, and more widely accessible, format as the government continues to make more publicly held information available for reuse.

Land Information New Zealand today made its Raster Navigational Charts available in an unencrypted format that’s more widely supported by software manufacturers.

New Zealand has been ranked 4th in the 2013 Global Open Data Barometer, released in London by the World Wide Web Foundation and Open Data Institute.

“This is a real coup for New Zealand.  The Barometer is the first survey of global trends which ranks 77 countries on how they release their public data and the benefits those initiatives have for citizens and the economy,” says Mr English. 

Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson says great progress is being made to improve the health of Lake Wanaka through efforts to rid it of a noxious weed.

Lagarosiphon, also known as South African oxygen weed, chokes waterways, smothers native aquatic plant communities and it establishes quickly if left untreated.

Weed control at Lake Wanaka is carried out by a lagarosiphon management committee, led by Land Information New Zealand.

Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson today announced a project to gather national gravity data and to improve the accuracy of the New Zealand Vertical Datum 2009 has entered a new phase, with initial aerial surveying more than half complete.

Used to reference heights in New Zealand, its offshore islands and the continental shelf, the NZVD2009 was established using historical gravity data that wasn’t collected with the intent of using it for height system definition.

Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson says a new methodology to help decision makers prioritise areas for hydrographic survey will make inroads toward improving maritime safety in the South-West Pacific.

Land Information New Zealand has developed a hydrography risk assessment methodology that will highlight areas of comparative risk.

It was applied in a Vanuatu pilot in 2012. It highlighted areas of concern where expertise and assistance is needed to ensure compliance with international conventions, and to build in-country capability and capacity.

Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson today announced the recorded English names of the two main islands of New Zealand, the North Island and South Island, will be formalised.

The decision follows a recommendation from the New Zealand Geographic Board, which undertook extensive consultation this year.

“While these names appear in official publications, including maps and charts, they had been recorded names only and had no formal standing.

The Government has approved changes to the way the Rating Valuations Act 1998 applies to Christchurch City Council, enabling it to start a long awaited general revaluation later this year.

Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson says the council will be able to apply a modified method to conduct the revaluation.

“Values will be assessed from sales data, including where EQC and private insurance entitlements were assigned, and will not recognise the effects of physical earthquake damage on individual properties.

Associate Education Minister Nikki Kaye says a change to the way education property is disposed of will free up money to reinvest in new school property faster.

Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson says an innovative approach to maintaining the geodetic datum has enabled the repair of vital infrastructure as part of the Canterbury rebuild.

Geodetic datum defines the size and shape of the part of the Earth that includes New Zealand, and also defines NZ’s position relative to the rest of the world. The geodetic datum was distorted by the Canterbury earthquakes.

Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson today announced the Public Works Act 1981 will be amended to make land acquisition and compensation fairer and more efficient.

Among changes is an increase to the solatium payment, which compensates landowners for the disruption and inconvenience when their home is acquired for a public work, and vacant possession of the property is given.

The Canterbury Spatial Data Infrastructure programme is delivering new ways to assist the Canterbury earthquake recovery, Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson says.

A new planning tool has been developed as a part of the Forward Works Spatial Coordination project. It will allow recovery agencies’ forward works, and utilities, to be viewed in an integrated way, with timeframes, locations, and other relevant attributes.

Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson says the battle to preserve New Zealand’s natural heritage has taken a step forward, with 150 hectares of wilding trees cleared at the iconic Lake Pukaki.

Land Information New Zealand has completed an intensive 18 month eradication programme in an area between the western shoreline of the lake and State Highway 80.  It will enable the shoreline to return to its natural state.

Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson today announced that Land Information New Zealand will contribute $2.1 million this year to the Ocean Survey 20/20 initiative.

The cross agency initiative coordinated by LINZ was launched in 2006 to promote research in the New Zealand marine environment. 

“The LINZ contribution will pay for 40 sailing days on the RV Tangaroa, which is a vessel owned by NIWA. 

Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson today made two new appointments, and five re-appointments, to the New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa.

The Board is responsible for place naming in New Zealand, its offshore islands, the Ross Sea region of Antarctica and undersea features on New Zealand’s continental shelf.

“Auckland University’s Dr Merata Kawharu and Canterbury University Associate Professor Te Maire Tau are new appointments to the NZGB.

Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson says 17 South Island High Country Crown pastoral leases are from this week on a new rent system.

There are 221 pastoral leases and each one has its rent reviewed every 11 years.

“The 17 leases were the first reviewed under new legislation (Crown Pastoral Land Amendment Act 2012) which bases rents on the earning capacity of the land and not on the value of the land exclusive of improvements.

Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson today announced that 85 per cent of New Zealand’s most current publicly held aerial imagery data has been opened up for public re-use.

LINZ, as the steward of imagery, has been working with other agencies since 2011 to make available such data under open licence.

“Until recently, only six per cent of New Zealand’s land area imagery was available publicly, and most government-held imagery was stored on internal systems.

Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson says the LINZ Data Service has set the benchmark for the release of public data for reuse, innovation and enterprise.

Launched in 2011, LDS provides free and open access to Land Information New Zealand’s fundamental land and seabed datasets to support the creation of new and improved products and services across business, government and the community.

The future health of some of New Zealand’s iconic lakes is being enhanced through a significant programme of lake weed control work, says Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson.

“Carried out by Land Information New Zealand, the work programme represents an on-going government investment of more than $600,000 per year in the control of lagarosiphon and hornwort in specific New Zealand lakes.”

Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson today announced Budget 2013 will provide an additional $1.2 million for wilding pines control and eradication work at Mid Dome in Southland.

It is estimated 8,000 hectares of land in the Mid Dome area is affected by medium to dense wilding pines infestation (100 to 2,000 trees per ha).

Another 60,000 hectares is affected on a smaller scale (1-100 trees per ha).

“This funding for the 2013/14 year will help protect landscapes and productive land at Mid Dome.

Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson today announced the appointment of Neale Faulkner to the Cadastral Surveyors Licensing Board.

The board oversees the licensing and professional discipline of cadastral (land title) surveyors.

“Mr Faulkner has been a registered cadastral surveyor for 24 years, and is currently a director at Yeomans Survey Solutions Limited. I have no doubt he will make a valuable contribution to the board,” Mr Williamson says.

Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson today announced the reappointment of Evan Gamby and Hekiara Puketapu to the Valuers Registration Board.

An independent statutory body administered by Land Information New Zealand, the board regulates registered valuers and investigates complaints about them.

“Both Mr Gamby and Mr Puketapu are long-serving members of the board, having served for 22 and 10 years respectively. I have reappointed both for a further three years,” Mr Williamson says.

Land Information Minister Maurice Williamson says a new collaborative approach towards the management and disposal of Crown land will deliver significant benefits.

“Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) has established the Crown Land Centre of Expertise, which will provide other Government agencies with advice and assistance in relation to Crown land.”

LINZ manages more than 5,000 properties (about two million hectares of the land) and is responsible for administering many land related laws.