A Local-State Government Spatial Data Sharing Partnership

A Local-State Spatial Data Sharing Partnership Model to Facilitate SDI Development
5.4.1 Jurisdictional Environment
Geographic Profile
The island State of Tasmania lies off the south-east corner of the Australian mainland (see
Figure 5.7). The area of the State, including the lesser islands, is 68,102 square kilometres
or about 0.9% of the total area of Australia; it is just under one-third the size of Victoria,
the smallest mainland State (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006b).
Figure 5.7 Geographic location of the State of Tasmania
As of June 2003, Tasmania had a resident population of approximately 480,000 people.
Since 2002, there has been a positive population growth in Tasmania after a number of
years of declining population due to inter-state migration to mainland Australia (Australian
Bureau of Statistics 2006b). The small geographic area of Tasmania is considered to be a
positive factor in collaborative initiatives. Although many areas have limited
development, most towns and rural areas are readily accessible by vehicle and have
satisfactory ICT infrastructure. With only 29 local governments the task of
communication is also manageable.
Government Sector
The reduction in the size of the public sector in Tasmania has followed a similar pattern to
Victoria in the early 1990s. Both State and Federal public sectors were down-sized
through outsourcing, privatisation and general improvements in productivity and
efficiency. As of 2005, there were approximately 36,500 state and 4,000 local government
employees (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006c). Figure 5.8 illustrates the changes in
the public sector profile in Tasmania over the past two decades. The partnership under
investigation commenced in 1997, at a time when staff reductions in State Government
agencies were continuing and the economic position of the State Government was poor.
Like Victoria, the commencement of the partnership initiative at a time of resource
scarcity supports the findings in literature that these situations encourage co-operation.
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