At 09:08 PM 16/01/2003 +1100, you wrote:
>itself, as well as from ns1.ausregistry.net.  Check for yourself, but
>here are my results.  Are all the authoritative servers for *(?).gov.au
>really not redundant outside ausregistry's scope?  It seems that one of
>these four servers is likely to be on a different network, but hmmm?


During the downtime, the ausregistry domain itself could not be looked up. 
Maybe this has something to do with the name servers on an ausregistry 
domain not being resolvable.

Also, not sure why the whois shows:

# whois gov.au

[whois.crsnic.net]


Whois Server Version 1.3

Domain names in the .com, .net, and .org domains can now be registered
with many different competing registrars. Go to http://www.internic.net
for detailed information.

    Server Name: GOV.AU
    Registrar: DOTSTER, INC.
    Whois Server: whois.dotster.com
    Referral URL: http://www.dotster.com/help/whois


 >>> Last update of whois database: Wed, 15 Jan 2003 17:12:28 EST <<<

Kind regards,

Lucian Kafka
www.conexim.com.au