[okfn-discuss] CKAN and the Queensland Government

[Gavin Chait]

The Queensland Government in Australia has been working closely with the
Services team at the OKFN to release local state data via our CKAN data
library platform. This went live yesterday with 74 datasets.

http://data.qld.gov.au/

The Premier of Queensland, Campbell Newman, has said this on the launch:

“Data is becoming the currency of our society. By making government data
available to the public we will allow Queenslanders to develop innovative
services and solutions.  The open data revolution is a key part of the
government’s agenda to drive growth and job creation in Queensland. We will
ensure that we have a government that is open, accountable and delivers the
results Queenslanders expect.  Sharing data will promote new thinking and
inventive solutions to benefit us all.”

Some interesting data released includes the database of 123,000 of the
estimated 160,000 convicts transported by the British government to
Australia during the period 1787 to 1867
(http://data.qld.gov.au/dataset/british-convict-registers) and a collection
of digitised, out of copyright maps from the State Library of Queensland,
including early maps of the Pacific region, Queensland and Brisbane
(http://data.qld.gov.au/dataset/digitised-maps).

David Beal, a Director at SmartService Queensland which if part of the local
government and which implemented the CKAN platform, had this to say:

“I want to thank you and the Open Knowledge Foundation for the tremendous
support you have provided me and my organisation. This project had very
compressed timeframes and major expectations. Your company has been nothing
but professional and accommodating, ensuring that our end product is a
success.”

“In regards to the CKAN product I have been impressed with the ease of
customisation. My developers have been able to easily and rapidly modify the
product and the beautiful way in which the presentation layer has been
implemented has allowed us to fully modify the look and feel to our needs in
a very short space of time, within a matter of hours.”

“Your product is one of the easiest open source applications I have worked
with. Lightweight, powerful and an easy customisation in the presentation
layer. I am looking forward to working with you on future enhancements.”

Thank you to everyone involved and I hope you'll join me in welcoming
Queensland to the open information community.

Regards

Gavin

Gavin Chait | Head of Services | Open Knowledge Foundation
gavin.chait at okfn.org | M:  +44 (0) 78 9495 7090  | http://okfn.org/