auDA AGM Questions

The Annual General Meeting for auDA is on in Sydney on the 28th November. That’s a week on Monday! How time flies.

Apart from election of Directors, the AGM gives members the opportunity to ask the Board and CEO questions. All questions are going to be Minuted this year. Hopefully, there will be full disclosure regarding what’s planned for the future of the .au space. No ducking and diving; or hiding behind “Board confidentiality”.

I’m going to be there as usual, and will have a number of questions to ask.

For those that are not able to make it, I would be happy to ask questions on your behalf. Please list them below in the comments section – or if you prefer anonymity, you can email me. I think it’s actually good to “telegraph our punches”. I’d rather have an answer on the day than be fobbed off!

Questions For The AGM

(I’ll keep updating this section as questions come in).

Let me start the ball rolling.

• The Board accepted the Names Panel Report in February this year. Please elaborate where auDA is at with regards direct registrations. (I will have several follow up questions on this topic).

• Some people have raised the point that Stuart Benjamin resigning as a Demand Class Director and then being re-appointed as an Independent Director is in contravention of the auDA Constitution. I would presume auDA got legal advice on this move prior to making it? Could you please clarify?

From an anonymous member regarding Audit Report:

• Registry Enhancements (2016) $451,184 (2015) $119,400 Why does auDA pay for enhancements if the registry is operated by a 3rd party? On many occasions I have been informed that the 1-5 year policy could not be put in place because it would involve changes to the registry which could not be done until the contract with ausregistry expired and a new tender doc put in place if that is the case why did they pay for enhancements and what were they for.

• Internet Expenses $373,750 What exactly are internet expenses ? web design, hosting, nbn It would be good to have some sort of breakdown especially as there is also this below.

• Communications (2016) $185,086 (2015) $701,556 Why did this go down by almost 500,000 dollars?

• Legal Costs $269,325 Why have they gone up $100,000?

• Staff Amenities $15,164 For the number of staff they must sure eat a lot of donuts and drink a lot of coffee. What exactly are staff amenities?

From an anonymous member regarding Cameron Ralph Report:

• Please explain what exactly is meant by No 8; and further, why it is not agreed?

8. auDA staff should continue work to expand and broaden the membership base.
• Not agreed – auDA’s membership classes and qualifications are specified in Clauses 9.3, 9.4 and 9.5. Membership
classes have not been reviewed to assess contemporary applicability since 2006. The focus should be for auDA to
consider its wider membership requirements as its further assesses its longer term strategic vision.

• What does it mean by ensuring the membership base is resistant to criticism? What does it mean about members not meeting expected standards? Is this discrimination?

9. auDA staff should continue to work to ensure the membership base is resistant to criticism, including
improving establishing a ‘fit and proper’ criteria, a stronger vetting process for new member applications and
cleaning up the existing database of members where members do not meet the expected standard.
• Agreed – see response to recommendation 8.

(More questions to come).

Ned O’Meara – 18th November 2016

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