auDA Board Minutes - 14 April 2003
Public Version
14 April 2003
107 Faraday St Carlton
Present: Kim Davies, Chris Disspain, Kim Heitman, David Keegel, Cheryl Langdon-Orr, Jo Lim, Michael Malone, Peter Nissen, Josh Rowe, Peter Shilling, Tony Staley
Teleconference: Greg Watson
Observers: Ric da Paz, John Higgins (Hayes Knight), Derek Whitehead (Swinburne University), Keith Besgrove (NOIE)
Apologies: Greg Crew, Peter Dean
1. Continuous Disclosure
PS advised that, subject to due diligence, Destra Corporation will acquire a 60% shareholding in TPP Internet (Two Purple Plums Pty Ltd).
2. Confirmation of Minutes
The minutes of the February 2003 meeting were approved. Report on actions arising from the February meeting:
- auDA is awaiting advice from the Privacy Commissioner's office regarding opt-in/out options for mailouts.
- auDA has submitted an expression of interest to the ccTLD Ad Com to run the ccTLD secretariat through to the Montreal meeting and possibly provide secretariat services to the new ccNSO when it is formed. Provision of secretariat would be on a cost recovery basis.
3. Finance Report
The board noted the finance report, previously approved by the Finance Committee. The draft 2003/04 budget will be submitted for consideration at the June board meeting.
4. New Names Advisory Panel DW presented the Panel's final reports.
- New 2LD proposals. The board accepted the Panel's recommendations in full, namely: 1) conf.au will be reactivated, following policy development and consultation by auDA; and 2) no other proposal for new 2LDs will be accepted at this time. KB noted the Government's support for the evaluation process undertaken by the Panel.
- Future process for consideration of new 2LDs. The board gave in principle support to the Panel's report, pending further clarification of the issue of open and closed 2LDs. The board confirmed its view that all 2LDs should be directly managed by auDA, apart from the legacy closed 2LDs (csiro.au, edu.au and gov.au).
Action: JL and DW to draft a position paper regarding open and closed 2LDs, to be considered at the next board meeting.
The board thanked DW and the Panel for their efforts. The board agreed that, in future, advisory panel chairs should receive remuneration. The board also discussed whether panel members should be remunerated, but decided that it may undermine the independence and integrity of the panel process. It was noted that, to date, there has not been any difficulty in attracting suitable people to participate on the panels in a voluntary capacity.
5. CEO Report
The following issues were noted:
- AusRegistry quarterly report, Jan-Mar 2003
The board noted the drop-off rate for renewals and the increase in org.au registrations since 1 July 2002. auDA will examine these issues in more detail.
- auDA Foundation
auDA is awaiting a response from the Assistant Treasurer regarding the request for deductible gift status.
- gov.au
NOIE is currently reviewing gov.au arrangements, in particular the provision of registrar services for the state/territory 3LDs.
6. Membership
The board noted the report from the membership committee. The board approved the committee's recommendation that the auDA membership fee for demand class members be reduced from $100 (plus GST) to $20 (plus GST).
Action: auDA staff to investigate fee payment methods.
The members listed below were accepted in the classes indicated.
Cowley Hearne Lawyers (demand)
The Australiasian Online Services
Directory (supply)
CAUDIT (rep assoc)
7. Policy development
- Geographic names
JL advised that the Committee for Geographical Names in Australasia (CGNA) will provide a new reserved list for geographic names, when it updates the Concise Gazetteer in October. The CGNA will also provide the list of names to be used by local communities in the new geographic 2LDs.
The board discussed the restriction on geographic names in com.au and net.au. Two previous advisory panels have considered the issue but have not been able to provide a consensus recommendation. The board agreed that, rather than set up a new panel to consider a single policy issue, auDA should conduct its own public consultation. The consultation process will draw on the earlier work of the panels. The board reserved the right to refer the issue to a new advisory panel, depending on the outcome of the public consultation process.
The board noted progress on the implementation of the new geographic 2LDs, and the upcoming workshop with state/territory governments.
9. Board correspondence
Correspondence was received from Fr Michael Kelly (Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference) and John Mullarvey (Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee) regarding the New Names Advisory Panel's report. The board considered the issues raised by both letters under item 4, above.
10. Other Business
- Code of Practice
The board endorsed the latest version of the Code on 31 March 2003 (via email). CLO raised the issue of a compliance mark for signatories to the Code. A registered compliance mark would require consultation with and approval from the ACCC and possibly the TIO. A registered compliance mark may also require auDA to take a more active role in monitoring the behaviour of resellers, which would have significant resource and regulatory implications.
Action: JL to further investigate the use of a compliance mark and report at the next board meeting.
- NOIE activities
KB advised the board of NOIE's work on 1) a strategic framework for the information economy, 2) spam and 3) critical infrastructure protection.
11. Appointment of New Director
MM tendered his resignation from the board, due to business and personal commitments. The board thanked MM for his outstanding contribution as one of the founding directors of auDA.
auDA’s constitution (clause 19.7) states that where a director resigns mid-term, the board is required to appoint a replacement director within 3 calendar months of the vacancy. There is no provision for an election to fill the vacancy. The board agreed that it would be appropriate to appoint another person from iiNet/Connect West to replace MM as a supply class director.
Motion (proposed JR, seconded CLO): That the board appoint Ric da Paz to replace MM, for the remainder of MM's term of office (ie. until the 2004 AGM). Carried.
12. Next Meeting
The next board meeting will be held on Tuesday 10 June 2003, at 10am.
