>The biggest pressure I can see for this year is that at least one
>monopoly commercial DNA will likely be requesting/demanding in a
>few months time, that registrants pay significant amounts of money
>just to continue holding their domains.
>
>(Apologies if I've missed something important in the last 2-3 months.)

Whilst there may be some perceived advantage to registering in the com.au
domain, the .com is easier to deal with, cheaper, and quicker.  

At the moment, people not engaged in the Internet as a business etc. don't
seem to see much/any difference between .com and .com.au.  Yes, most
generic names in the .com domain are currently registered, but may names
desired by small Aust businesses are available.  I suspect that small /
often state based businesses probably will account for the bulk of domains
in the future.  Just as they account for the bulk of companies registered
with the ASIC.  Another example is the LARGE number of self managed super
funds with less than 4 members.  The large super fund are a drop in the ocean!

Do we really want a system that is either that difficulty to deal with in
terms of red tape, or expensive that the .com.au domain is just by passed?