"At the time we had a bit of controversy from people asking 'how can you have an Australian conference in NZ. The [Dunedin] team was so well organized, and ultimately the objective has to be to provide the best conference possible for the community or members of the organization.

"Whether that happens in Australia or offshore is neither here nor there," Oxer says.

"There are advantages to both approaches. If there are enough people interested within New Zealand to have critical mass and make a local organization happen, that would be fantastic."

Oxer says at the very least, holding the conference in Dunedin has certainly raised the profile of Linux and open-source within New Zealand. "That has to be a good thing."