Loading ...Because auDA has limited candidates to just 100 words, we offered all the 2009 board election candidates an opportunity to publish a longer and more meaningful statement. Only David Cake, a long-time board member and the current secretary of Electronic Frontiers Australia, took up our invitation.
I’m applying for the auDA board because it is a natural next step in my growing involvement in governance and policy development for the domain name system and internet generally. I’ve been on the board of Electronic Frontiers Australia for several years, Australia’s national organisation representing Internet users concerned with on-line freedoms and rights, and so I’ve already been involved in a wide range of national internet policy debates, and government policy development processes. I’m also involved with ICANN as an active member of the Non-Commercial Users Constituency, I am currently a member of its Executive Committee. I’m confident I can be an effective voice for all Demand class users, individual, commercial, academic, and non-commercial (and I’ve administered domains in all those spaces). I’m particularly keen to represent the interests of individual registrants, small business, and non-commercial groups.
I believe auDA is a well managed organisation with solid governance, and I believe its policies have generally served the .au domain well. Of course, in the evolving environment of the internet, it is necessary to continuously evolve and adapt, and active, engaged, and aware board members are a necessity.
Besides my experience on the EFA board, I’ve been the chair of community ISP bur.st, and been an active board member of many other organisations, including being founding chair of several.
Besides being an experienced board member and advocate, I’m also very experienced with the technical issues faced by domain name registrants. I’ve registered many domain names and administered many DNS servers (and continue to do so), and I have a strong technical background.
A major issue within iCANN currently is the upcoming expansion of the generic top level domains. I broadly support the opening of new top level domain, but ICANN policy is evolving and there are still major issues to be addressed currently. I don’t think there is a case for increasing domain space within .au in the same manner as ICANN plans to do for top level domains. Country code domains aren’t generic top level domains, the issues and history are different, and auDA has historically managed its domain space very differently to the way ICANN has managed the generic top level domains. While increasing the number of second level domains within .au is generally desirable, I think auDAs current policy of introducing them only after extensive public consultation is the right one. auDA has just asked for proposals for new second level domains, so this issue will be one dealt with by board members elected at the AGM, and I support auDAs commitment to public consultation for these domains.
Ombudsman processes are under development by auDA. I support their development. It is in every ones interest for there to be cost-effective, non-litigious, independent dispute resolution procedures. Disputes naturally arise, it is important that both registrants and registrars have equitable access to a dispute resolution process by which their concerns can be addressed at a reasonable cost.
The eCommerce Report asks if I am ok with licensees holding multiple domain name registrar licences, and whether there should be limits on the number of auDA licensed registrars. I think it is an issue for the market. Registrars offering differentiated services for different needs via multiple licences seems a good outcome and no cause for concern. In any case there is significant choice via the large number of resellers active in the Australian market. I do not think auDAs primary concern should be the number of registrars, but with ensuring that all registrars are offering a quality service.
