> If you think domains in .com.au are harder to obtain, then what about
getting a suitable name in .com? The rules for .com.au encourage the
namespace not to get completely exhausted the way .com has. (snip) If you
have a commercial entity, the chances of you getting your  relevant .com.au
name are much greater than getting a .com.

Hi Kim,

I agree entirely (or at least I did up until a few days ago... now there is
.biz plus five other new suffixes, there are billions of additional
combinations available for businesses to choose from, and for Australian
ISP's to sell) - though the point remains, you are preaching to the
converted... Who is "out there" running newspaper advertisements etc.
promoting the advantages of .au to industry at large? (why should a company
pay more and wait longer just to get two additional letters? - it would be a
fairly poor company financial manager who did not ask this question, with
the expectation of receiving an answer prior to signing the purchase
order!).

Yet this is still supposedly an Australian asset...

Plus all of this still sidesteps the real issue... do a majority of
Australian businesses want to be identified as "solely Australian"? (if this
is what having a .au in your domain name implies) - seemingly Telstra do
not... and how many even on this list have a .com in your URL? - isn't our
own industry promoting E-Commerce as a "doorway to the world" for
business? - We seem to have forgotton our own promotions to companies
wishing to enter the global economy.... demographics is superflous... it
doesn't matter if you are a small florist in the Northern Territory, you can
still sell flowers to the world (just add a .com).

Cheers, Don