Who actually supports the AUDA chair?

snoopy · Jul 25, 2017

We aren’t exactly seeing directors coming out saying they support Stuart are we? One board statement stating no actual names, just a recommendation from “your board”. I’m not even sure the majority actually support him.

Which actual directors are on record as saying they support the chair? Answer, None!

The supply side insisting that the hastily arranged AUDA lunch be shifted to after the vote is probably the clearest sign yet that many supply side people are not on board with AUDA’s games either.

Nicole Murdoch · Jul 25, 2017

And no one is supporting him on this thread. The silence is deafening. Does no one support him or is no one brave enough to support him publicly?

neddy · Jul 25, 2017

Nicole Murdoch said:
And no one is supporting him on this thread. The silence is deafening. Does no one support him or is no one brave enough to support him publicly?

It's no secret that Erhan Karabardak supports him. In fact, he told me so just recently.

DomainNames · Jul 26, 2017

Interesting to read. Connect the dots...."JOBS FOR THE BOYS".....
auDA CEO....auDA Chair... certain auDA Directors.
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/auda-names-former-liberal-mp-as-new-ceo-432239

“As auDA looks to the future to become better connected and engaged with its members and stakeholders, the breadth of experience that Boardman brings to the position including his extensive policy development, commercial and international skills, will ensure the organisation will be exceptionally well led into the future,” auDA chairman Stuart Benjamin said in a statement.

“This is an exciting time for auDA and the broader domain and digital community. The board is looking forward to auDA re-positioning itself as the leading advocate of the .au domain space and ensuring its members and stakeholders views are integral as the National Innovation and Science Agenda continues to be implemented.”

National innovation and science agenda??? auDA's job is "Australian Domain Name Administration" - Nothing more and nothing less - cut the bullsh$$

Members and stakeholders have spoken and they want a new real domain name industry qualified auDA CEO, real domain name industry qualified New auDA Board and real domain name industry experienced New auDA Chair to get the auDA focus BACK ON .AU DOMAIN NAME Administration.

- Wholesale .au price reduction as per the 2008 contract renewal terms. Supply registrars, Supply resellers and .au domain name registrants have been ripped off for too long! What has auDA done to enforce the 2008 wholesale price reduction requirement - NOTHING! Why? Who is on the auDA Board?
- Update RDNH policy
- 1 to 10 year registrations
- FREE COR as most extension have always allowed
- Cutting auDA financial waste and lower wholesale .au pricing to stay globally competitive and "innovative". Reduce wholesale .au pricing and give the Supply Registrars / Resellers the chance to make some money instead of auDA and 100% foreign owned wholesale registry contractor Ausregistry who have made hundreds of $ millions from unfair no competition contracts!
- Etc.

Lemon · Jul 26, 2017

DomainNames said:
Interesting to read. Connect the dots...."JOBS FOR THE BOYS".....
auDA CEO....auDA Chair... certain auDA Directors.
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/auda-names-former-liberal-mp-as-new-ceo-432239

“As auDA looks to the future to become better connected and engaged with its members and stakeholders, the breadth of experience that Boardman brings to the position including his extensive policy development, commercial and international skills, will ensure the organisation will be exceptionally well led into the future,” auDA chairman Stuart Benjamin said in a statement.

“This is an exciting time for auDA and the broader domain and digital community. The board is looking forward to auDA re-positioning itself as the leading advocate of the .au domain space and ensuring its members and stakeholders views are integral as the National Innovation and Science Agenda continues to be implemented.”

National innovation and science agenda??? auDA's job is "Australian Domain Name Administration" - Nothing more and nothing less - cut the bullsh$$

Members and stakeholders have spoken and they want a new real domain name industry qualified auDA CEO, real domain name industry qualified New auDA Board and real domain name industry experienced New auDA Chair to get the auDA focus BACK ON .AU DOMAIN NAME Administration.

- Wholesale .au price reduction as per the 2008 contract renewal terms. Supply registrars, Supply resellers and .au domain name registrants have been ripped off for too long! What has auDA done to enforce the 2008 wholesale price reduction requirement - NOTHING! Why? Who is on the auDA Board?
- Update RDNH policy
- 1 to 10 year registrations
- FREE COR as most extension have always allowed
- Cutting auDA financial waste and lower wholesale .au pricing to stay globally competitive and "innovative". Reduce wholesale .au pricing and give the Supply Registrars / Resellers the chance to make some money instead of auDA and 100% foreign owned wholesale registry contractor Ausregistry who have made hundreds of $ millions from unfair no competition contracts!
- Etc.

How was your holiday?

But your are correct. auDA has certainly lost it's direction and purpose.
I'm sure we have a Constitution for a reason but that's ok we can just ignore it.

snoopy · Jul 26, 2017

Good article on the "Members Revolt", in particular suggesting the current CEO position may be untenable if the Chair goes. I'm not really sure on that, to what degree does the CEO genuinely support the Chair or is he simply going along with things because he has to?

My gut feeling though is that supply side possibly dislikes AUDA leadership as much as demand so I think AUDA is in a lot of trouble.

If the chair goes (or gets a substantial % of votes against him) AUDA would need the changes things at a fast rate to disassociate themselves from old decision making, in particular, scrap the current code of conduct completely and start again with proper consultation and agree to publish all future board minutes.

The organisation has also either been wilfully defying the Corporations Act 2001 or has been getting poor legal advice. Either way, repeated attempts to shut down and manipulate the vote has failed.

AuDA members are currently lodging proxies for those unable to attend the meeting Monday with indications that many long term players in the Australian domain name industry, registrars, interested players and domain investors have all had enough. It’s even rumoured a director or 2 are having second thoughts as to Benjamin’s abilities to carry on as Chair.

So what will be the future if Benjamin goes? One would think after investing so much effort into the changes, the current CEO’s position would be untenable. He’s supported changes, pushed by he and at least some of the board, that members find abhorrent.

http://www.domainpulse.com/2017/07/25/auda-members-revolt-chair-ousting/

DomainNames · Jul 26, 2017

NOW is the time to stand up and support the vote for Resolution 4.

auDA has been woefully led off track over the last year and much of this has been at odds with members, stakeholders, The Corporations Act and the auDA Constitution.

The political spin is pour B.S. and people from all areas have had enough.

A true independent domain name industry experienced auDA Chair is required.

What is Not required is someone placed into the role for the financial or a political party "jobs for the boys" benefit.

I call on the auDA Chair to resign gracefully now before the meeting, for the meeting for then to not need to go ahead and to save a lot of expense for auDA, members and other stakeholders.

What has it cost auDA so far in legal fees for advice, meetings etc. Where does auDA get it's income? Is it theirs to waste?

snoopy · Jul 26, 2017

DomainNames said:
What has it cost auDA so far in legal fees for advice, meetings etc. Where does auDA get it's income? Is it theirs to waste?

The next annual report will be interesting reading. I'm guess they'll be making the expense categories as vague as possible.

Also the CEO said in the video he had been meeting with former staff "for coffee", is that a code word for "coffee at the lawyers office"? If so what has been spent on staff settlements, unfair dismissal claims etc?

DomainNames · Jul 27, 2017

snoopy said:
The next annual report will be interesting reading. I'm guess they'll be making the expense categories as vague as possible.

Also the CEO said in the video he had been meeting with former staff "for coffee", is that a code word for "coffee at the lawyers office"? If so what has been spent on staff settlements, unfair dismissal claims etc?

It seems at first EVERYONE has been paid off to keep quiet but people soon realise they have been sucked into a deal they should never have signed under pressure.
Some people do have professional standards and morals it seems and now some of them are speaking out with support of many.

I feel if I was an ex staff member or ex director and I had been blamed for past auDA woes I would be now discarding any Deed Of Release and instead going on the attack.

Some ex auDA staff and Directors reputations have been slandered in my opinion and unless there is proof it appears this was a smokescreen for some people to take over auDA for their own benefit.

I have no doubt some current people at auDA and on the auDA Board will not be in the domain name industry in 5 years once this debacle is fully exposed and more people come forward or there is some government, member and media intervention.

The damage these clowns can do is massive and this is what is most scary. They seem to not have any idea about global domain names, the market or what the role of auDA actually is!

We seem stories like this and people now start to see what others have been saying for at least a year are true. http://www.domainpulse.com/2017/07/26/auda-ceo-director-conflict-interest/
Conflicts of Interest
Jobs for the Boys/ Jobs for the Liberals
http://www.domainpulse.com/2017/07/26/auda-ceo-director-conflict-interest/

PaulS · Jul 27, 2017

I have not been paid off to keep quiet. Quite the opposite.
I just lost my job.
As I said on Domainer a while ago, former staff have little voice at this time, partly by choice and partly by circumstances. We have lives, health and careers to rebuild and that must be our priority.
Again, as I have said previously, criticisms of the "old auDA" and watching what is happening now does sting but we don't gain anything from engaging and fighting back.
Don't interpret this as us being gagged or not caring.
It is the exact opposite. The vast majority of us cared far too much about the industry, to the point where it became "more than just a job". And that is why we are suffering now and need to move on.
That said, the widespread community support is appreciated and I hope and expect to be around the industry, in some role, for far more than 5 years.

Abuse a man unjustly, and you will make friends for him.

Lemon · Jul 27, 2017

snoopy said:
The next annual report will be interesting reading. I'm guess they'll be making the expense categories as vague as possible.

Also the CEO said in the video he had been meeting with former staff "for coffee", is that a code word for "coffee at the lawyers office"? If so what has been spent on staff settlements, unfair dismissal claims etc?

Came across this one
http://aptld71.vn/list/

Looks like, Boardman, Karabardak and Benjamin all went to Ho Chi Minh City.
Seems like auDA had the most representatives. Why did all three have to go?

Also looks like the agenda revolved around security so why did auDA's chair of Security & Risk committee not attend as opposed to Karabardak who is not even on the committee?

Lemon · Jul 27, 2017

Looks like Karabardak is off to this one in September
http://aptld72.ge/list/

snoopy · Jul 27, 2017

Lemon said:
Came across this one
http://aptld71.vn/list/

Looks like, Boardman, Karabardak and Benjamin all went to Ho Chi Minh City.
Seems like auDA had the most representatives. Why did all three have to go?

Also looks like the agenda revolved around security so why did auDA's chair of Security & Risk committee not attend as opposed to Karabardak who is not even on the committee?

AUDA directors love to travel!

Screen Shot 2017-07-27 at 2.36.40 pm.png

snoopy · Jul 27, 2017

DomainNames said:
It seems at first EVERYONE has been paid off to keep quiet but people soon realise they have been sucked into a deal they should never have signed under pressure.
Some people do have professional standards and morals it seems and now some of them are speaking out with support of many.

I feel if I was an ex staff member or ex director and I had been blamed for past auDA woes I would be now discarding any Deed Of Release and instead going on the attack.

The fact is the AUDA spends huge amount of money on lawyers and the staff are the victims in all of this. People have lost jobs, lives ruined and those staff probably have nothing to gain by breaking the confidentiality clauses that AUDA would be insistent on before compensation is paid.

You think those staff want a team of AUDA lawyers chasing them?

Lemon · Jul 27, 2017

28th October - 5th November
ICANN60 | Abu Dhabi

Lemon · Jul 27, 2017

Did anyone attend.
26-29 June
ICANN59 | Johannesburg

DomainNames · Jul 28, 2017

Lemon said:
Came across this one
http://aptld71.vn/list/

Looks like, Boardman, Karabardak and Benjamin all went to Ho Chi Minh City.
Seems like auDA had the most representatives. Why did all three have to go?

Also looks like the agenda revolved around security so why did auDA's chair of Security & Risk committee not attend as opposed to Karabardak who is not even on the committee?

I was told by the new CEO this sort of thing was all in the past at auDA and he would reign in expenses and junkets.... Have the junkets stopped? Are they flying economy? What about detailed trip reports for members to see?
“All animals are equal but some are more equal than others”

DomainNames · Jul 28, 2017

snoopy said:
The fact is the AUDA spends huge amount of money on lawyers and the staff are the victims in all of this. People have lost jobs, lives ruined and those staff probably have nothing to gain by breaking the confidentiality clauses that AUDA would be insistent on before compensation is paid.

You think those staff want a team of AUDA lawyers chasing them?

If I signed a deed of release with auDA with mutual non disparagement clauses and then auDA staff or Directors continued to state to people I was part of the old auDA issues etc I would have no problems pursuing the matter.

The fact is as Ned rightly pointed out numerous people have been hurt and blamed and I am not sure we have seen true benefits from them being removed by some current people. Certainly I am seeing more and more facts come to public awareness we may have been sold a dummy.
This is the article Ned wrote which seems to highlight the issue. I am happy people are speaking up as they wish to. It appears we are not dealing with isolated cases. auDA has lot a lot of great people and I am not sure everyone should have been sacked or pressured to resign etc etc.

Also now we see many people who would have been perfect for auDA jobs, panels and board roles just used to fill candidate numbers..As Shane seems to have been the victim of.
http://www.domainer.com.au/auda-put-up-or-shut-up/

Andrew Wright · Jul 28, 2017

https://www.auda.org.au/mailouts/auDA+Plain+Members+Email/Statement+from+auDA+Chair+Stuart+Benjamin+

Statement from auDA Chair Stuart Benjamin
28 July 2017

Today I have taken a very difficult decision to stand aside from my role as Independent Chair of auDA three months before the expiry of my term as an Independent Director.

I have reached the view that there is no possible positive outcome for the organisation from the vote planned for Monday.

I believe a new Chair would be better placed to continue the change program I have been leading.

auDA is an organisation that did not change for a long time, and it has been through a period of accelerated change in recent months. The Board will continue with the Registry Transformation Project and the implementation of direct registration for .au. In the coming weeks, there will be a number of announcements about our successes in these areas.

Driving transition is hard for the Board, it can sometimes be hard for staff and it’s clearly created concerns for some members.

The Board and myself do not resile from the decisions or directions we have taken and I am immensely proud of what we have achieved.

In the past nine months I have led the Board’s implementation of a new governance regime reflecting the recommendations of the Cameron Ralph review, and a business restructure to better meet the strategic objectives of the organisation.

As Chair I have overseen an increase in policy generation, in effective oversight, and in good governance.

We have also commissioned some of the largest member consultation projects in auDA’s history.

However, the auDA Board and members need to forge a different way of working together and I think there is a better chance for that to happen if I step away.

Everyone at auDA is open to robust criticism on strategy, policy and decision-making – that interaction makes us stronger. When that healthy engagement devolves into personal attacks on board members, the capacity of the organisation to attract and retain good people is affected.

I will continue to take a stand against cyber bullying and will not be deterred in standing up to anyone who thinks it is acceptable to personally attack staff and directors. I do not want my experiences to discourage others from running for election, or accepting an appointment, to this important organisation.

My 5 years of involvement with auDA have been immensely rewarding and I leave confident that the organisation is well positioned for the future.

Lemon · Jul 28, 2017

Let us all hope this is catalyst for change and a move in building a better and more transparent organisation and a stronger .au namespace

Who actually supports the AUDA chair?

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