At 17:41 7/07/2002 +1000, you wrote:

>>>>  auDA is not a Government organisation.  It is a non-Profit
>>>>  Limited company made up of members.  The Australian Government
>>>>  has endorsed auDA to the be the regulatory authority / manager
>>>>  for .au domain names.
>>>
>>>Can you send me a copy of the endorsement please.
>>
>>http://www.iana.org/cctld/au/alston-to-lynn-16aug01.htm
>
>Proves the point.  It doesn't meet all the endorsement criteria so it's 
>not exactly endorsed.

It doesn't prove this point at all. Are you reading the same document?
auDA has to demonstrate to the government it is meeting these criteria.
The government believes auDA is and has endorsed auDA as the ccTLD
Manager for Australia. There is no "partial" endorsement. The government
has not said it believes auDA "doesn't meet all the endorsement criteria".

Sure, you may believe auDA doesn't - but for the sake of government
endorsement, I don't believe the government asks you to personally decide.
You might not believe the government, or the minister, represents your
specific views. Whether you like it or not, the government of the day is
the one that makes decisions for the country. Welcome to Australia. If
you don't like the Australian system of representative government move
to another country. Whether the minister is a "luddite" or not doesn't
change things.

kim