Home News From the CMWG: Why We Encourage Members to Vote FOR the Proposals at the EGM

From the CMWG: Why We Encourage Members to Vote FOR the Proposals at the EGM

Posted by CMWG on 17 September 2018

Dear auDA Members,

We are writing to you ahead of auDA’s Extraordinary General Meeting on the 27th of September, 2018.

As you would be aware, the Consultation Model Working Group (CMWG) was established to develop and implement a model of consultation with auDA members regarding the proposed constitutional changes, as a consequence of the Australian Government’s review of .au.

We are pleased to advise you that, after extensive consultation with stakeholders and auDA, we have made significant contributions to the proposed governance and membership model proposed by auDA that will be considered at the EGM. 

Contributions include: 

  • A reduction of the three-year ‘transition period’ to two years
  • The intention is for this model to transition to a single-member model, and the trigger for normalising the model has been reduced from 15,000 Associate Members to 12,500 Associate Members
  • The introduction of a requirement for members to have an Australian connection, consistent with the connection required for the registration of a .au domain name 
  • Clear, public, and reportable KPIs for the to-be-developed ‘membership attraction campaign’
  • A formal process for filling a casual vacancy of an elected director
  • The creation of the General and Technical Advisory Standing Committees to reinforce the importance of the multi-stakeholder model in internet governance and an EOI process for appointment to the Committees
  • Advice on further strategies to reach out to members who have been harder to engage

 

Consistent feedback from auDA members and stakeholders has been supportive of a ‘single-member model’, and we are pleased that auDA has acknowledged - and committed to achieving - this at the completion of the two-year transitional period.

There was vigorous and open debate within the CMWG about the proposed model. We know the model proposed does not deliver a single-member model straight away, but it allows auDA to get there within two years and delivers crucial stability in the short-term.

It is important that auDA members recognise the future of the industry self-regulatory model is at stake. The stability of the .au namespace is paramount and we acknowledge that auDA requires a transitional period to grow the membership before re-introducing a full membership model.

auDA management has provided a firm commitment to the two-year transitional period.

We are excited about the future of auDA 2.0. It promises a renewed focus on policy and the direction of .au.

We encourage you to agree to the proposal.

Sincerely,

The CMWG