Board Minutes - 4 September 2000
Public Version
Meeting of the .au Domain Administration Board
4 September 2000 - 1.00pm
connect.com.au Pty Ltd. Level 9, 114 Albert Road. South Melbourne VIC 3205
Present:
Chris Chaundy, Kim Davies, Kevin Dinn, Kim Heitman, David Keegel (Secretary, Minutes), Michael Malone, David Thompson (acting Chair), Erica Roberts, Greg Crew, Tony Staley, Craig Hand (CFO)
Teleconference:
Mark Hughes and Greg Watson
Observers:
Tom Dale (NOIE), Jo Lim (NOIE), Michelle Scott (NOIE) and Derek Whitehead (Chair, Names Panel)
Apologies:
Nil
1. Minutes of Previous Meeting
Motion: DK/CC: That the August Minutes are approved. Passed.
2. Independent Directors
Motion: KH/ER: That the Board appoints Mr T. Staley and Mr G. Crew as Directors of the Board of auDA, for a period of one year, that period subject to legal requirements, including if required ratification at the AGM. Passed.
Tony Staley and Greg Crew were welcomed to the Board.
Register of Interest forms were given to TS and GC to be filled out and returned to the Secretary.
GC declared that he will have future work with Melbourne IT, but not in relation to domain names.
4. Name Policy Panel
Derek Whitehead reported to the Board. The Names Panel met Tuesday, 29 August 2000. The Panel has organised itself into 6 working groups. Each working group is writing a paper with recommendations, and these papers will then be discussed and integrated by the Panel. The aim is to have a stage 2 paper ready for public consultation in October.
At this point Mark Hughes and Greg Watson joined by teleconference.
5. CEO Search
There were 25 applicants in response to the advertisement placed in the Weekend Australian for a CEO on Saturday 5th August by Perry McKerlie from KPMG Perth. This has been reduced to a short list of 3 candidates.
Interviews are expected in the next week or so. Confirmed that applications are closed.
Craig Hand has been engaged to work as CFO for a 3 month period. The position is essentially full-time. An issues paper and action plan was prepared in regard to the CFO. CH spoke to the paper.
GC to ask ACIF about a sample Delegation of Authority and report to CH. Action: GC. Until further motion, MH is to act with the authority of the Board in handling media enquiries in his capacity as Publicity Officer.
6. Competition Panel
Co-Chair. ER does not currently have time to follow this up further.
Motion MM/KD : That auDA begin the Competition Panel immediately and continue efforts to find a Co-Chair that satisfies the concerns of all stake-holders. Passed.
Greg Crew indicated that he would be willing to follow up possible Co-Chairs, continuing the process which ER started. Action: GC.
The Board now turned its attention to finalising the Panel membership. Jo Lim offered to collate votes. The result was a finalisation of membership of the Competition Panel.
The Competition Panel is now able to start convening. George Michaelson to advise the successful candidates. JL to advise unsuccessful candidates. Action: GM,JL.
7. Transfer of .au Authority.
A clear distinction was drawn between Government endorsement and the transfer of authority for the .au ccTLD (which is a matter for ICANN/IANA, not for Australian Government).
The requirements for a smooth transfer of authority for the .au ccTLD from Robert Elz to auDA are:
Robert Elz agrees that a transfer of .au to auDA is appropriate
auDA agrees that it will accept responsibility for managing .au, and shows that it has the capability to do so.
auDA secures Government endorsement as an appropriate body for .au
Other stake-holders in the Australian Internet community also express views on the appropriateness of auDA
auDA should then collate these views and forward them to ICANN staff.
On the subject of Government endorsement, auDA is preparing a report for Minister Alston, responding to a letter from the Minister. It is expected that this report will be completed in September. The report can then be sent to Government so that it can conduct a review.
A sub-committee of GW, GC, DK was formed to determine how to measure a community consensus and liaise with Robert Elz. Action: GW,GC,DK
Action: GW and others.
8. Continuous Disclosure.
As mentioned in 5, GC declared that he will have future work with Melbourne IT, but not in relation to domain names.
ER is not longer employed by Melbourne IT.
TS suggested moving the Continuous Disclosure item closer to the top of the agenda. Agreed.
9. Treasurer's Report.
1. AGM
We will aim for an AGM in the third week of November.
DK and KDa to start organising for the AGM. Action: DK,KDa.
CH to liaise with auditor (John Howard) to ensure Annual Report will be ready. Action: CH.
2. Outstanding Agreements.
It was suggested that Jim Aked of OGO is now responsible for co-ordinating an agreement with auDA, with respect to gov.au. CH to liaise with Baker McKenzie to determine current status.
10. Members
Motion CC/DK: That Peter Batchelor, Chandana De Silva, Simon Stainsby, Adam Barclay, Tony Myers, and Bruce Tonkin are accepted as Demand Class Members and Cheap Global Domains is accepted as a Supply Class Member. Passed.
11. Public Interaction
CH to liaise with MH and DK on admin/technical resource requirements for AUNIC/public interaction and determine a sustainable model. Action: CH.
12. Publicity
MH reported on 3 interviews.
13. Registry issues
1. Zone file
MH reported on com.au secondary servers.
2. AUNIC Hosting
DT reported that letters have been sent by BM to tenderers seeking more information, after an initial evaluation determined that further information was required.
14. ICANN
GC reported that ICANN will meet in Melbourne, 10-13 March 2001.
15. Other issues
1. com.au Fee Increases
GW reported that Melbourne IT has increased fees for com.au domain registration. Melbourne IT are asserting that this is as a result of their agreement with auDA. GW to obtain advice from BM on the implications of the M-IT/auDA agreement on M-IT's per domain fees
2. Internet Name Protection
KH asked about the status of the press release regarding Internet Name Protection.
16. Next Meeting
Next meeting: 9 October. Location: Melbourne, venue TBA.