I don't think the domains are "ever increasing". Going in the wrong direction in my view.
Snoopy, I have to say that up until recently, I shared your pessimism about .au. The "SS Domain Investor" had been navigating turbulent waters for a couple of years, and it looked like there was a big waterfall ahead. But amazingly, the cruise operator decided to change course in the nick of time. Are we home and hosed yet? By no means - there are certainly some rapids ahead, but to my viewpoint, I'm feeling a lot less sea-sick than I was.
Dispensing with the metaphors, I think the
9 page submission by Zak Muscovitch on behalf of the Internet Commerce Association carried a lot of weight with the auDA Board, as did the highlighting of the situation by Ron Jackson's
DNJournal. But of course, I might be wrong.