Hey Kim

|At the absence of any other hints, I'm not sure whether this is a hint at
Labor's active opposition to industry self regulation, |or rather simple
political opportunism by trying to create a hot-button issue.

You're right, this is more likely to be political opportunism, however it is
known within the industry that Labor have a position on the industry self
regulation and are likely to seek Government regulation. Simply, their
current position is a good example of their overall strategy. This is where
my concern lies.

|The downside with such flexibility is that policy changes are rarely
reversible in domain names (specifically allocation policy). |Once the horse
has bolted on liberalisation, it is nigh impossible to reverse.
Hypothetically, I don't think it likely that you will |see any conceivable
operator of .au telling the phone company Orange that they have to hand back
their orange.com.au |domain name due to a change of heart.

I agree with you. It is very difficult to expect a widespread hand back of
geographic names. Though it is not inconceivable in some circumstances.
Possibly this example is a bit of political opportunism from both sides :->

Regardless, if Labor wins the next election, I am confident that the
industry's self determination will be reviewed by Labor.

Marty