Australian laser survey sparks mapping protest

27/07/2010

A row has erupted in Australia over a laser mapping project of the country's most important agricultural area.

The Murray-Darling Basin Authority is commissioning the aerial surveying of the basin, but one of the companies that bid for the project has said the authority has wasted money on choosing a tender that will only complete a fraction of the work.

Chief executive of Australian mappers, NearMap, Stuart Nixon, said his company could map the whole basin for tens of millions of dollars less than the US company, Intermap, which eventually won the contract.

In a letter to the Water Minister, Penny Wong, he said it is wasting money that could be spent on crucial water management projects in the increasingly arid region.

"The result is flawed management of billions of dollars of water rights and food production and reduced ability to improve the health of the Murray-Darling Basin," he wrote.

He received support from John Trinder from the University of New South Wales's School of Surveying and Spatial Information Systems. He said the photo and laser-based technique on offer from NearMap would provide much better and more detailed information than Intermap, and for a fraction of the price.

The project is similar to that currently underway in the UK to map the New Forest and Worcestershire's Wyre Forest.

An MDBA spokesman defended its decision, however, saying it had complied with commonwealth procurement guidelines, its own internal practices and "best practice in procurement."