So, what’s happened since then? My friends at Netfleet clocked up 30,000 domains, 1,500 offers and 105 transactions. Not bad when 99.9% of the population doesn’t understand the basic concept that you can buy/sell these things.

Just to put the icing on the cake; this week mortgage.net.au apparently sold for $13,500! I nearly fell off my chair when I read this – FOR A .NET.AU ? What the? Others include jeweller.com.au for $14,767 and freestuff.com.au for $18,700.

So, at least we are off to a start. It certainly wasn’t the big bang that people said it would be. Why am I not surprised? Despite being an Aussie, I personally haven’t been a fan of the .com.au namespace, but I am warming up to it….

Of course things would be better if the Australian government changed the backward, dysfunctional, judge, jury and executioner, “regulator” who is continuously in the media for all the wrong reasons, making Australia a complete joke on the world stage. Here are a few quotes from recent articles:

• Bolton dusts off for another courtroom scrap

“Cheyne Jonstone, of Cove Business Technology, has also called on Senator Conroy to sort out the mess….Senator Stephen Conroy needs to act now and act quickly. The government appointed this body to implement policy and regulate the .au domain name space, but their actions of late demonstrate that they are failing to do that adequately, or more importantly, the actions of their CEO, Chris Disspain.”

• Opinion: auDA recklessness damages Australian domain industry

“Larry Bloch, CEO and co-founder of Netregistry says Chris Disspain of auDA has acted as judge, jury and executioner by cancelling Bottle Domains’ accreditation so suddenly, here he talks to CRN about how this action is now proving to be grossly negligent.”

• Bottle Domains settlement talk scuttled as damages loom

“auDA chief Chris Disspain gave iTnews a categoric “no” when asked if the regulator would consider settling the case before it goes to trial on 24th June….. He also said the regulator had a strong enough cash position – some $4.3 million in reserves – to back up a further unfavourable ruling from the Victorian Supreme Court.”

Should auDA exist in its current form? Should there be protests at ICANN’s 35th meeting in Sydney this month, calling for the Australian government to step in, use their reserve powers in relation to domain names (under the Telecommunications Act 1997) and remove auDA? Perhaps transfer it to ACMA or another body, with more experience, that’s truly representative of the industry.

Post and let me know what you think.

The Panel has released an Issues Paper for public consultation, which sets out the current situation and canvasses the issues and possible options for change. The closing date for submissions is Friday 1 August 2008.

Here are a few interesting points:

• “Abandon the competitive registry model and make auDA the registry operator”
  

This sounds like someone has been talking too much to ICANN or Verisign.

• “the start-up capital costs constitute the most significant barrier for prospective new entrants” Ohhh.. the poor kids down the road can’t become an operator.

HELLO, its called capitalism ! I’d note that “Accredited registrars pay an annual fee to auDA of $3,300 and there is also a $2,200 non-refundable accreditation application fee.”

• “auDA does not have the legal power to impose financial penalties on a registrar who has breached the Registrar Agreement.”

So registrars can basically do whatever they want as long as its not serious, to the point of suspension or termination the registrar’s accreditation.

• “Questions have been raised however, about the extent to which registrars should be allowed to participate in domain-related activities other than the core business of registering domain names for registrants. For example, is it appropriate or desirable for registrars to be in the business of warehousing domain names for their own domain monetisation purposes?”
  

Watch out – its those evil domainers again!

• “It has been suggested that this lack of market transparency could be addressed by publishing a list of deleted and expiring domain names, or by placing the domain names in a “holding pool” for a period of time before making them available to the general public.“

This is just a bad idea. Again, see the word capitalism. Looking into my crystal ball I see auDA being in a position to profit from this “holding pool”. Who will have the independence to maintain it?

It appears that auDA needs all the help it can get. Have a look at the Issues Paper and send your comments to:

auDA Industry Competition Advisory Panel
email: i...@auda.org.au
fax: 03 8341 4112

For those that don’t know, auDA is a government endorsed entity that was formed in 2000, so administer the .au domain space.

To date, auDA has resisted attempts to open up the .com.au namespace so that anyone can register a domain name. In fact, their policies are just plain prehistoric. Around December 2007, auDA “suspended new registrar accreditation applications”. The auDA board minutes tell us that this was “due to a backlog”, however if you read on it also says “noted some challenges that have arisen recently, with more overseas-based applicants and existing registrars seeking multiple accreditations.” In other words – bunker down kids – those evil domainers are comin!

Policy

Last year, the auDA Names Policy Panel made a recommendation to the auDA board that the transfers policy “be relaxed”. In simple terms, the new policy says:

• You can’t register a domain name”for the sole purpose of resale or transfer to a third party“.

• You can’t transfer your domain name for the first 6 months.

• You can sell a domain name after 6 months.

• If you transfer it to someone else, then you “will be asked to disclose the sale method and price, on a voluntary and confidential basis”.

• auDA may “collect aggregated statistical data to improve access to market information for buyers and sellers.”

So, how is auDA going to enforce these rules? No, really. What’s in it for auDA to collect market data – apart from promoting domain name prices in a heavily regulated market?

How Do I Register?

Before you jump in and say “EUREKA – I’m going to get me some .com.au domains” – you also still need to qualify under the eligibility and allocation rules. This basically means you need to be Australian and/or have a company structure / ABN.

In any case, the media has gotten wind of this and is hyping it up to be an “open market”. While its step in the right direction, the restrictions are still a joke.

Perhaps the Australian Internet industry needs an industry body that represents those that want a free and open, commercial market? Should auDA even exist? What do you think?