Dear Jonathan, Lise and CWG members, As a response to Grace’s call for final comments and submissions, I would like to offer these observations – both as a CWG participant and on behalf of auDA. Firstly, thank you all for the tremendous amount of time, effort and commitment you have all dedicated to this unprecedented process. Particular thanks to Jonathan and Lise for their exemplary leadership and incredible stamina. Thanks also to the many ICANN support staff who, no doubt, have not had a “quiet day” since some time in 2014. Plaudits aside, I would like to welcome this most recent “final draft” proposal. I note that auDA has previously submitted two formal comments to the CWG’s public consultations, which contained both supportive statements and constructive criticism. The way in which community criticisms, in particular, were acknowledged and actioned by the group is an excellent exemplar of the multi-stakeholder model in action. In our response to the 22 April public consultation round, auDA noted a number of concerns including: - a lack of clarity regarding separation mechanisms, - unclear jurisdiction, scope and structure for the PTI, - triggers and processes for “special” IANA Function Reviews, - composition of the IFRT, - empowerment of “direct customers” of IANA, and most notably, - the legal structure of the PTI and its relationship with ICANN. I welcome the CWG’s response to these and other comments, including: - clarification of separation mechanisms / processes, including the inclusion of a “Separation Cross-community Working Group”, - additional detail regarding how a “special” IFR review would be triggered, and - refinements to the IFRT structure, including an extra ccNSO participant and a provision that the group will not be allowed to take a decision on an exclusively “ccTLD issue” if it doesn’t concur with the position of the group’s ccTLD members. Finally, auDA notes that the CWG has determined to propose a contractual relationship between the PTI and ICANN. While this does not directly accord with our original position, we acknowledge that the CWG’s view is supported by the majority of the community and welcome the resultant establishment of the PTI as a “controlled affiliate” of ICANN, established as a Public Benefit Corporation in California. While there are still a number of details to be resolved, auDA is pleased to express support for the CWG’s final draft proposal, both on this list and at our upcoming discussions in Buenos Aires. Regards, Cheers, Chris Disspain | Chief Executive Officer .au Domain Administration Ltd T: +61 3 8341 4111 | F: +61 3 8341 4112 E: ceo@auda.org.au <mailto:ceo@auda.org.au> | W: www.auda.org.au <http://www.auda.org.au/> auDA – Australia’s Domain Name Administrator Important Notice - This email may contain information which is confidential and/or subject to legal privilege, and is intended for the use of the named addressee only. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not use, disclose or copy any part of this email. If you have received this email by mistake, please notify the sender and delete this message immediately. Please consider the environment before printing this email.