Summary
Kenex has flourished, despite all of the obstacles faced to date. The company's success has been as much despite government co-operation as because of it. Other companies may not be so fortunate. The Kenex partners have a very clear understanding of their product and have been able to establish a sustainable business case to pursue their work and product development without New Zealand government support or assistance. Ironically, the New Zealand economy may be the loser. Core geological data in most Australian states is available free (except for reproduction costs). When a client has a choice, it will cost less to develop new models for the Australian environment, which will attract new mining investment to that country in preference to New Zealand. Although Kenex may remain a New Zealand company, paying taxes on profits in New Zealand, the much greater benefits from mining industry investment as a result of the company's activities could accrue across the Tasman. Unless the New Zealand government addresses the issue of the cost of access to information and the value of knowledge products, then real economic differences between the two countries could be exacerbated.
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