From: COIN Click P/L - Kirk McDougall 
Sent: Friday, 30 July 2004 1:00 PM
To: jo.lim@auda.org.au
Subject: Reply on Geographic Names issue.

Closing date 30 July for submissions.

Dear Jo,

Please accept this submission for consideration in the debate.

I submit that it is vital for restricted access to be maintained to the 
geographic name domain.

In particular a restriction to allocation which enables community groups 
to own and operate a relevant domain name without fear of that domain name 
being hijacked by commercial entities. Likewise a domain name that will 
not become used as either a commercial blackmail item or sold to the highest 
bidder.

Given the proposed suburban and country regional use - a domain name should 
be accessible BY ALL who wish to be listed under that banner for either no 
fee or a nominal fee. The domain name must not be available to someone who 
can than lever significant commercial advantage, profit and/or power at the 
expense of those who wish to use it. 

The geographic domain name must remain above the issues of grubby profit-
making and commercial self-serving and instead be placed as a higher purpose 
facility for the good of the TOTAL community.

The original working parameters as listed on your website for the last 9 
months, I believe, should be exercised, rather than a simple "too hard" 
response and caving in to whomever is fastest to claim the geographic names 
or has the most money to reserve the names and then the resource to market 
them to the highest bidders.

.com.au and .net.au geographic place names should only be made available 
under the strict guidelines that your working group is currently considering.

Regards

Kirk McDougall