Board Minutes - 17 August 2009
Public Version
Meeting of the .au Domain Administration Board
17 August 2009 - 11.00am
Maddocks. Level 7, 140 William Street. Melbourne VIC 3000
Present:
Tony Staley (Chair), Chris Disspain, Julie Hammer, Kim Heitman, Graham McDonald, Tony Steven, Dwayne Varey, Alex Woerndle, Amin Kroll, Josh Rowe and Marty Drill
Teleconference:
Cheryl Langdon-Orr
Observers:
Craig Ng (Maddocks), John Higgins (Hayes Knight), Jacki O’Sullivan (auDA-Minutes) and Tristan Kathage (DBCDE)
Apologies:
Jo Lim
1. Apologies
Jo Lim was an apology.
2. Continuous Disclosure
Marty Drill advised he is no longer a director of an accredited registrar, but is still a director of a reseller, Get Started Australia Pty Ltd.
3. Confirmation of Minutes
The minutes of the 15 June 2009 board meeting were confirmed.
4. Finance Report
· The board noted the June end-of-year and July accounts.
· Solvency resolution for Annual ASIC Statement (proposed T Staley, seconded K Heitman & J Hammer): The board resolved after reviewing the result of the company for the previous year, reviewing the budget for the ensuing year and considering the ability of the company to realize assets, that the company would be able to pay its debts as and when they fall due. Carried.
5. CEO Report
· The CEO & PAO reports were noted.
· Craig Ng gave a summary on current legal matters (Privileged item).
6. auDA Foundation Report
The board noted the report. The Foundation has received 39 grant applications for the 2009 funding round which will be considered for approval by the auDA Foundation board later in the month.
7. Policy Development
The CEO advised:
· Domain Renewal, Expiry & Deletion Policy: The policy was opened for review on 10 August with the closing date for submissions being 11 September 2009. There has been a good response to date with a strong indication that the policy requires updating. The CEO encouraged all members to review the policy and lodge submissions as required.
· New 2LDs: It is anticipated that a call for proposals for new 2LDs will open within the next 6 months for a 3 month submission period. The board agreed to amend auDA’s new 2LD selection process (approved in 2003) by 1) appointing a new 2LD evaluation committee instead of a full advisory panel, and 2) excluding closed 2LDs from consideration.
8. auCD Report
· The board noted the auCD report.
· The Future of auCD proposal was summarized and discussed. The strong support of the proposal by the auCD board was noted. J Hammer raised concerns regarding financial support beyond July 2010 for those communities that could not afford the ‘community site in a box’ hosting costs. It was agreed this should be revisited.
· The board agreed in principle to the operational consolidation proposal as recommended, including the ongoing role of the auCD board, with a proposed detailed budget for the next financial year to be reviewed at the October board meeting. The auCD board members present, T Staley & C Langdon-Orr, abstained from voting.
9. Membership Applications
The membership applications below were approved in the classes indicated:
· Robert Sandali (Demand)
· Rosemary Sinclair (Demand)
· Joseph Tiong (Demand)
· Domain8 Pty Ltd (Supply)
· William Lye (Demand)
· Jack Simpson (Demand)
· John Hillier (Demand)
· Glen Riseley (Demand)
· Get Started Pty Ltd (Supply)
· David Harry (Demand)
· Convertrix Pty Ltd (Supply)
· Itelligence Pty Ltd (Supply)
· NetStart Pty Ltd (Supply)
· Tony Steven (Demand)
· Corporate Web Service Pty Ltd (Demand) - Approved subject to clarification of application class
Marty Drill (Get Started Pty Ltd) and Tony Steven abstained from voting for their respective applications.
10. October 2009 Board meeting & AGM
· It was confirmed that the next Board meeting and AGM would be held in Perth on Monday 19 October 2009.
· Alex Woerndle advised he would not be standing for re-election to the board at the 2009 AGM. The Chair and board thanked Alex for his contributions during his term.
11. Reappointment of Independent Directors
· Motion (proposed K Heitman, seconded J Rowe & T Steven): That the board reappoint the independent directors Tony Staley, Julie Hammer and Graham McDonald for a further 12 months. Carried.
· C Disspain will circulate a note to the board regarding the independent directors’ remuneration for agreement and formal resolution.
12. Board Correspondence
There was no board correspondence.
13. Other Business
· Future of domain names: T Steven raised the issue of the future impact on domain names with respect to social websites (eg; Twitter/Facebook etc). J Rowe gave a summary of investigations by Australia Post into this issue and will email a summary to all for information. K Heitman also advised that research has been done into this issue however the current marketing has concluded domain names will remain core.
14. Next Meeting
The next board meeting will be held on Monday 19 October 2009 in Perth.