Hi..

> Further to my reasons to register this, Sydney and Melbourne are both 
> .com.au Internet names. I understand these names were registered in 1995 
> which was before the Name Place policy was introduced.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.. I personally would rather that sydney and
melbourne not been granted, but any responsible registrar has to deal with
what has been done in the past as best as they can..

> An example comes to mind.
> In Victoria, a previous road rule was: a car turning left at an 
> intersection must give way to an oncoming car turning right into the same 
> street.
[...]
> There are not 20,000 people following the old law and 10,000 following the 
> new law, they all follow the new law.

Another example.. Certain antique cars are registered today that would not
pass the registration requirements of cars manufactured today, yet when
renewal time comes up, they are still allowed to renew the rego..

You can find an example of anything, it doesnt make it relevant or
applicable to domain name renewals..

> The same exists with these people who have registered place names before 
> the policy was raised. I say this because once the renewal is due, it 
> should have been revoked.

> This now brings me to precedent.
> Because the old place name people were allowed to renew, it then confirms 
> the precedent that it is OK to use place names on the Internet in the 
> .com.au domain.

That is not what the rules say or imply.. They do say that if you
registered a name previously that now does not fit the rules, you can
renew it but could not register it again.. I can see numerous legal
problems with taking away the domain name of a business who registered it
in good faith and think it would do far more damage to domain name
policy/industry/good-will in Australia..

> I believe there should be some criteria that can be met ie the ratification 
> of the request to use the name by the elected local authority, in this case 
> Parry Shire Council. This should be done, in writing and forwarded to the 
> registering company for clarification before registration takes place.

I dont see how a local council can have the authority to grant a business
or company the right to use its name for their own.. But if you think you
have a legitimate reason why you should be exempt from the place-name 
rule, by all means take it up with INWW or whoever they are this week..
They have always listened when I have called them with what I believed was
a legitimate discrepency..

scott..