auDA AGM Details

[findtim]

1. ask auda
2. Fk, they only just got back !
3. a lot less then "the past" i'd expect
4. yes, and i didn't go mostly because i had other auda work to do before the AGM, i will state i will be investigating future icanns whether or not there is an obvious alignment to me as i honestly believe , and have proven over 20 years, that " lifes like a box of chocolates" you just never know what you're gonna get.

tim

 

[snoopy]

1. ask auda
2. Fk, they only just got back !
3. a lot less then "the past" i'd expect

Realistically AUDA aren't going to say anything unless forced to by an FOI request. Why would they given what was posted on Instagram about this trip?

 

[findtim]

Who is paying for all of this? .au domain name consumers

of course they are, aren't you in business ? why does a lawyer get paid there fees? = knowledge, accountants = knowledge, YOU = knowledge and there is a cost to knowledge.

ohhh, do i have to explain simple business to you? did you not see the movie "kenny"? there are POO conventions, i have client that fly to china twice a year with NO GOALS simply to find new ideas and grab australian trademarks/patents for new products.

lets bottom line it, icann is a necessity, all we need do is not take the P*SS on expenses, thats how i see it.
its a "cost of doing business" .

business class you won't change my mind, 5-6 stars ? i don't know the details but maybe everything in abi is 5-6 stars???
i keep making valid points and you all keep not replying to them:
what about you wanting me to eat in the street stalls?
a cheaper hotel much further from the conference to save money
the value of outside seminar communication/connection
security of my life

tim

 

[Data Glasses]

I think a fleet of Auda Camper Kombi's would solve this debacle

 

[findtim]

Realistically AUDA aren't going to say anything

other then a time consuming forensic report each month its hard for directors to monitor and that then becomes micro-managing.
i'm all for detail accounts and would like to work on having many items on the financials dissected for the board which just adds TIME to our workload.
thats what budgets are for, seeeeeeeeeeee now you have forced me into a woolies story

easters, we had masses of broken choc eggs, wastage, but it was a % not " 2 humpty dumpty's and an MM's mega box ", you got to draw the line somewhere.
i've gotta get back to REAL work.
tim

 

[snoopy]

business class you won't change my mind, 5-6 stars ? i don't know the details but maybe everything in abi is 5-6 stars???
i keep making valid points and you all keep not replying to them:
what about you wanting me to eat in the street stalls?
a cheaper hotel much further from the conference to save money
the value of outside seminar communication/connection
security of my life

tim

The fact is AUDA is not disclosing what is getting spent. As I said I think we are seeing a brief glimpse of the top of the iceberg.

Can I ask you for your opinion as to what millionaire billionaire luxury travel means?

Do you think that means money spent in a way that stakeholders would expect it to be spent?

 

[snoopy]

3. a lot less then "the past" i'd expect

Looking at the financials, travel expenses has actually increased significantly since Chris Disspain left,


People can see all prior years here,

https://www.auda.org.au/about-auda/our-org/annual-reports/

 

[Cheyne]

Please note the following is my personal view and not that of the companies I represent.

1. Who cares that Simon flew business class? Good on him. I fly business class all the time and I would expect nothing less for the representative of auDA at the ICANN conference to be comfortable during their travels. We sent Craig Marchant to the ICANN conference and he flew business class and stayed at the $1,200 per night conference hotel too. This whole mentality of "auDA must not spend money" is backwards and counter-intuitive to making .au a globally respected brand.

2. Craig Marchant resigned from his position at VentraIP Australia back in September which means he no longer represents our businesses, plus he has never been a director or shareholder which I believe allows him to represent the demand class.

3. Regarding Resolution 1, I think it's too broad and is open to abuse whether intentional or not. I do agree that some of the conditions are valid, such as convictions and bankruptcies, and I would have thought that would already have been the case.

4. Regarding Resolution 2, again I think it's too broad but I once again agree that convictions and bankruptcies should be taken in to consideration.

5. Regarding Resolution 3, I'm okay with this one because I do think there needs to be some checks and balances for people who are elected to the board. By not doing so you potentially open yourself up to tests of due diligence of Directors who may have been unduly elected and go on to commit fraud or some other illegal activity. Generally speaking this is how most NFP's vet their board members so I don't see why this wouldn't be the case for auDA.

Good luck to everybody who has nominated for election.

 

[snoopy]

I have received a phone call this afternoon from AUDA director Simon Johnson defending AUDA's spending on this trip. I've suggested to Simon that he come to Dntrade and explain his position to members in this thread.

 

[findtim]

millionaire billionaire luxury travel means

well you won't find me stating that on social media.
you can find me on :

linkedNOT, faceless, twatter, lastgram and pointress

tim

 

[DomainNames]

Looking at the financials, travel expenses has actually increased significantly since Chris Disspain left,
View attachment 665

People can see all prior years here,

https://www.auda.org.au/about-auda/our-org/annual-reports/

Hang on so we see auDA travel expenses have actually significantly increased even after audits, investigations and promises it would be reduced and more transparent?
So what is this all about then?
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/au_historical_financial_irregula

When will auDA Members at least get to see the trip reports and the breakdown of costs?

 

[DomainNames]

Looking at the financials, travel expenses has actually increased significantly since Chris Disspain left,
View attachment 665

People can see all prior years here,

https://www.auda.org.au/about-auda/our-org/annual-reports/

The "Consultancy Expenses" are mind boggling. This is crazy! Nearly $1.8 Million! RED FLAGS!

I am sure that will find it's way into the Government review's hands to dig deeper into. Who was chosen, Why, For what real benefit after to the role auDA is performing under Commonwealth Government delegation.

It appears .au domain name registrant consumers continue to be ripped off in my opinion.

auDA is not acting in the best interests of .au registrant consumers.

What benefit has the $1.8 million in consultancy fees and the total of over ($10 million or how much is it in total more?) paid so far to "consultants" provided?

• http://www.theage.com.au/small-busi...n-name-owners-ripped-off-20170807-gxqpzs.html
• http://www.smh.com.au/small-busines...n-name-owners-ripped-off-20170807-gxqpzs.html

 

[Cheyne]

Looking at the financials, travel expenses has actually increased significantly since Chris Disspain left

So do we simply ignore the fact that other expenses which you've quoted have been significantly reduced to the tune of $500,000?

 

[DomainNames]

Has everyone read this and all of the documents referred to in it?
https://www.righttoknow.org.au/request/au_historical_financial_irregula

In my opinion Cameron Boardman auDA CEO and Bruce Tonkin had very valid reasons to attend Icann at auDA expense. ( .au domain name registrant consumer expense)

Their responsibility to also engage perhaps with wholesale registry tender respondents also in attendance would most probably save auDA money and time perhaps.

Two people with their roles was an adequate representation.. but of course let's read the trip reports from others to see their attendance added value and the exact ROI.

My point is I was told in 2016 the "new auDA" would not be going on Icann " junkets" and wasting money anymore. no more " 6 star hotels" it would be limited to the auDA CEO to attend Icann and he would not be spending like others may have before... but what do we see occurring....What has changed after expensive audits, investigations, new travel policies, expensive consultants..

 

[snoopy]

So do we simply ignore the fact that other expenses which you've quoted have been significantly reduced to the tune of $500,000?

I put it to that your maths are pretty bad.

But the way AUDA have saved money is by shutting down the "rumoured to be dodgy" AUDA foundation and by turning over almost the entire staff.

The obvious one that directors & CEO benefits from, travel, has shot up, ironically way higher that under the old management. This comes despite the new management accusing the old management of having "high levels of expenditure on international travel".


https://www.auda.org.au/assets/pdf/SGM/auDA-SGM-presentation-website.pdf

 

[PaulS]

I wasn't originally going to comment, but given this thread has blown up like a North Korean missile on the launchpad, I feel the need to set the record straight in a few areas.

1. I cant and wont comment on Chris Disspain's travel expenses. I wasn't party to that information and all we can do is wait and see if auDA finally decides to release the report into this (instead of perpetuating rumours and starting gossip).
2. For the most part, the auDA delegation at ICANN was me and Chris. His travel over the last few years was subsidised by ICANN. So for the price of 1.5 attendees, we were covering 101 sessions. Many other ccTLDs brought far larger groups. InternetNZ always had 3 c-level officers plus staff. Nominet always had 4 or 5 people. This meant we were spread considerably thinner than others.
3. However, we were able to leverage the personal participation of former auDA Directors who were funded by the ALAC (Cheryl Landon-Orr) and SSAC (Julie Hammer) and other trusted colleagues. Free contacts, free insight and free coverage of the many concurrent sessions. You are welcome.
   
4. If you have never been to an ICANN meeting, please refrain from blithely referring to them as junkets. I never once went on a junket. Flew in as late as possible, usually starting preliminary meetings hours after landing, working 16-17 hour days, Chairing Working Groups and flying out as soon as we were done.
5. This was particularly fun in environments where we did not even consider inviting Directors. Security vehicles in Dakar, instructions not to slightly open taxi windows in Durban and escorts with automatic weapons to guide us 200 metres to a meeting in Nairobi. Yes. Junket.
6. Director attendance was not a given, but invited where the venue was accessible (e.g. Singapore). There was a plan to this - new Directors had priority and we tried to have each attend one meeting during their two-year term. The reason was simple - to give Directors personal experience of what goes on at a typical meeting and an understanding of why international engagement is critical.
7. We didn't let Directors just go and wander around. I always briefed them on key sessions and alternatives before the start of the week, facilitated introductions and usually organised a multi-lateral meeting for them with Board Directors / Governors / Councillors of other ccTLDs including NZ, Norway, Denmark, UK, Canada etc. It was a dedicated time for THEM to talk about issues of mutual interest.
8. Having only the CEO attend is concerning. What sort of engagement model will they follow? Rolling their sleeves up in the ccNSO, on Working Groups and Committees, such as the CEOs of CIRA or InternetNZ? Or swanning around in one-on-one meetings on the periphery and attending the few gala events? Trust me, there is one way you earn credibility and respect in ICANN. Work hard.
9. I always reported back to the Board and this was supplemented by the commentary of attending Directors. This was captured in CEO Reports, periodic blogs and the Annual Report. If members wanted more information and proof of RoI, I would have gladly obliged.
10. Business-class travel is a given. Get over it. I travelled for the Federal Govt before joining auDA and the rules were the same - over 8 hours travel and you get business. Mel to Abu Dhabi is easy, but not so fun when it is Canberra-Sydney-Dallas-Miami-San Juan and your luggage takes 2 extra days to arrive. Trust me, the recently-witnessed naive celebration of largesse wears off pretty quickly, particularly when you work or sleep most of the way.
11. Expensive hotels? Sometimes. ICANN has a habit of picking Conference Centres in the middle of nowhere. So you MUST get in to the host hotel. This was affordable in Hyderabad but dearer in places such as Marrakech. But we always got Jacki on the job of booking hotels the day the host venue was announced, often over-booking and offering spare rooms to international counteparts. Call it hotel-room diplomacy. By the way, my best stay was a 3* in the old city of Cartegena, Colombia.

In summary, despite the aspersions and accusations, I can guarantee that auDA's engagement at ICANN and other fora was strategic, targetted and meaningful. It was in our Strategic and Operational Plans. I cannot offer that same guarantee at the moment, particularly having personally witnessed exploitation such as the past-Chair posting online pics of reading new books poolside while I was beavering away at my 6th meeting of the day.

Rant over - feel free to take a lanyard on the way out. I have plenty to spare.

 

[Cheyne]

I put it to that your maths are pretty bad.

I was quoting what you said and referencing the image you posted.

My point was that you are picking up on a single line item in the balance sheet when there are others which show significant savings. Travel expenses vary from year to year as it is anyway due to fluctuations in fuel costs, location of conferences, etc, so your claim of "increase significantly" when we're talking about 17% year on year is simply out of proportion.

As Paul so elegantly said above... get over it!

 

[snoopy]

I was quoting what you said and referencing the image you posted.

So where is the 500k expense reduction in the image I posted? The image I posted shows expenses rising from $4.9 million to $5.2 million.

Travel expenses vary from year to year as it is anyway due to fluctuations in fuel costs, location of conferences, etc, so your claim of "increase significantly" when we're talking about 17% year on year is simply out of proportion.

A 17% increase is a large rise considering the organisation berated the former management for its "high levels of international travel". It should have gone down significantly if the claims about the former management were accurate.

As Paul so elegantly said above... get over it!

You are misquoting as his comment was simply about business class airfares. What he said about current management is below.

I cannot offer that same guarantee at the moment, particularly having personally witnessed exploitation such as the past-Chair posting online pics of reading new books poolside while I was beavering away at my 6th meeting of the day.

 

[Scott7]

well you won't find me stating that on social media.
you can find me on :

linkedNOT, faceless, twatter, lastgram and pointress

tim

Sorry Tim, but that's not entirely true. I screenshotted these just before you deleted your accounts.

Tim's house after post board election renovations. #AussieBattlerLifestyle


A typical three course meal at Tim's house following his election to the board. #LivingTheDream #AsGoodAsItGets

 

[Cheyne]

So where is the 500k expense reduction in the image I posted? The image I posted shows expenses rising from $4.9 million to $5.2 million.

Employee benefits expense
$328,384 (11% reduction)

Domain Name System infrastructure expense
$30,995 (7% reduction)

Marketing and communication expense
$106,433 (31% reduction)

Sorry, it's more around the $460k mark, but I was simply highlighting the fact that you can take selected line items out of context to suit an agenda which is exactly what you are doing.

A 17% increase is a large rise considering the organisation berated the former management for its "high levels of international travel". It should have gone down significantly if the claims about the former management were accurate.

New Governments always blame the old Governments for what has happened in the past. Did you expect anything less from a politician? Either way, I would much rather they spend the money on travel which is useful as Paul has outlined then on gold toilet seats or a new Porsche.