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Newly released figures again show overseas tax resident buyers and sellers are behind three percent of New Zealand property transfers, Land Information Minister Louise Upston says.

Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) has released its latest report on tax residency and property transfers covering April to June 2016.

New guidelines will let kiwi techies use government software to help build other innovative software, says Land Information Minister Louise Upston.

Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) has released guidelines to help government agencies apply open source licences to their software.

“Making government data freely available has resulted in businesses using it to develop precision agricultural tools and create apps for trampers. By taking the same approach to software, it too can be turned into new products for people to use,” says Ms Upston. 

Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) is improving access to property information following a survey ranking it among the most in-demand types of government data, says Land Information Minister Louise Upston.

The findings were included in the results of a LINZ survey published today, which asked New Zealanders about the top 10 datasets they would most like to be able to access.

“With more than 400 survey responses, this high participation confirms the importance of LINZ’s work in encouraging government agencies to release their data,” says Ms Upston.

New fees that take effect on Monday will mean the Overseas Investment Office can hire more staff and further streamline its internal processes, says Land Information Minister Hon Louise Upston.

The Government has approved changes which will see OIO fees restructured and increased by between 8.7 and 166 per cent for different application fee types.

Ms Upston says recent internal changes in the OIO have driven operational improvements and the Government wants to see further improvement.

Scientists have released new data that will help planners identify the risks posed by floods and sea level rise, says Land Information Minister Louise Upston.

Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) has completed a five year project to improve New Zealand’s Vertical Datum – a reference for measuring the height of the land and its features.

Taxpayers will reap the benefits of new arrangements for managing properties earmarked for future Treaty settlements.

The Office of Treaty Settlements (OTS) Landbank is made up of about 950 properties, and these will be managed by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) from 1 July 2016.

Land Information Minister Louise Upston said LINZ are expert in dealing with Crown property, and have the people, systems and processes needed to make sure the Landbank properties continue to be well looked after for iwi.”

Initial data generated from the Government’s property tax measures in Budget 2015 indicates overseas tax resident buyers are behind 2-3 per cent of New Zealand property transfers, Land Information Minister Louise Upston says.

Over the six months to 31 March, 97,800 property transfers of all types were registered with LINZ. Of these:

Changes to the overseas investment regime mean the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) will be able to assess applications faster and shore up investor certainty, Ministers Bill English and Louise Upston say.

The changes, which are the result of a review that has been underway since last year, are expected to take place in mid-2016 and will see OIO fees restructured and increased by between 8.7 and 166 per cent for different application fee types.

A new online system will streamline property transactions and make it easier to link property information held across central and local government, says Land Information Minister Louise Upston.

“Every day, kiwis buy and sell homes, subdivide land and build new houses. Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) processes more than 3.5 million transactions and property information searches a year,” says Ms Upston.

Fewer traffic jams, better water quality, and safer streets are just a few things we can look forward to thanks to work Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) is doing with councils, Land Information Minister Louise Upston said today.

“LINZ is currently working with Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington councils on the Smart Cities Programme to better understand – and ultimately improve – how our cities function,” says Ms Upston.

The Land Transfer Bill will bring land transfer laws into the 21st century, giving property owners better protection and making it easier to register property, Land Information Minister Louise Upston said today.

The Bill – to replace the Land Transfer Act – unanimously passed its first reading in Parliament today.

“The existing Act is over 60 years old, with provisions dating back more than a century, and doesn’t adequately reflect the realities of the 21st Century,” Ms Upston says.

For the first time ever, New Zealanders will have the chance to talk open data and innovation with world-renowned US expert on open government Beth Noveck, Land Information Minister Louise Upston said today.

Named one of the “13 Influential Women in Technology” by the Huffington Post, Ms Noveck will talk to a New Zealand audience online to mark International Open Data Day on 5 March.

A series of conversations with leading international open data experts will kick off the 2016 open government data programme, says Land Information Minister Louise Upston today.

“Last year New Zealand cemented its place as an open data world leader – a key indicator of a country’s innovation, transparency and lack of corruption. We’ll build on this in 2016 and take the open data message wider,” Ms Upston says.

A new stage in the fight against lake weed at Lake Wanaka began today, with the launch of a plan of attack for controlling lagarosiphon weed over the next decade.

Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) and their partners have been working collaboratively on weed control at the lake since 2005. The new 2016-2025 strategy will build on this success to ensure people can continue to enjoy the lake, Minister for Land Information Louise Upston said.

New Zealand’s Olympic rowing hopefuls can rest assured that aquatic weed will not interfere with their training at Lake Karapiro thanks to control work that began this morning, Land Information Minister Louise Upston said today.

Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) has begun spraying weed at the Mighty River Domain and will target upstream sites over the next fortnight.

“Our rowers must be free to train at Lake Karapiro without interference if they’re to lead the charge for gold at the Rio Olympics,” Ms Upston says.

Kiwis’ use of government generated data is growing, says Land Information Minister Louise Upston.

New figures show another 7,650 users registered to download free government data from the Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) Data Service in 2015, boosting the service’s total number of registered users to more than 20,000.

Geospatial research and development will focus more on what people actually need, thanks to the new Geospatial Research and Development Priorities and Opportunities document, Land Information Minister Louise Upston said today.

“The launch formed part of New Zealand’s first Geospatial Research Conference, held at the University of Canterbury, which is fitting as this document is the first of its kind for New Zealand,” says Minister Upston.

Today marks the start of a new phase in Christchurch’s earthquake recovery, with responsibility for around 8,000 residential red zone properties transferring from the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) to Land Information New Zealand (LINZ).

Minister for Land Information, Louise Upston, said the transfer will provide communities with confidence about the future management of the land.

“The immediate focus will be on maintaining current service levels and minimising any disruption to residents and neighbours of red zone properties.

Kiwi experts are teaming up with French and US scientists in Antarctica this week, as part of international efforts to understand the impacts of climate change on the frozen continent, Land Information Minister Louise Upston said today.

“Antarctica is an important measure of global climate, so the work LINZ is doing will help climate scientists to better understand the impact that global phenomenon like sea level rise have on all of us,” Ms Upston says.

The spelling of Wanganui District will be corrected to ‘Whanganui District’ – reflecting the views of the Wanganui District Council (WDC), local iwi and public submitters, Land Information Minister Louise Upston said today.

“Having reviewed the WDC’s proposal, all public submissions and other materials I’ve agreed that the spelling of the local authority district name should be corrected,” Ms Upston says.

New legislation will help give Canterbury property owners more certainty about where their property boundaries are, Minister for Land Information Louise Upston announced today.

“Due to the effect of earthquake-related ground movement on property boundaries in parts of Canterbury, it is difficult to accurately locate some legal boundaries. 

Land Information New Zealand Minister Louise Upston leaves today for an official visit to Mexico. Minister Upston will visit Mexico City, where she will give a keynote speech at the Open Government Partnership Summit.

“New Zealand has a strong and internationally recognised history of open data and transparent government. The Open Data Barometer Report shows New Zealand as a world leader in government data available to citizens.

Online data provided free of charge by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) is proving critical to the success of businesses across New Zealand, Land Information Minister Louise Upston says.

“LINZ’s Data Service has more than 19,000 users, and a recent customer survey found more than half of those surveyed rely on its data. A further 20 per cent reported the service’s data is critical to the success of their business,” Ms Upston says.

An overseas company’s application to purchase Lochinver Station has been declined because the benefits to New Zealand are not substantial and identifiable, Ministers Paula Bennett and Louise Upston say.

Pure 100 Farm Ltd, a subsidiary of China-based Shanghai Pengxin, applied to the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) last year to buy the 13,800 ha farm near Taupo for $88 million.