New Second Level Domain - '.maori.nz' Approved

July 19 2002

New Second Level Domain - '.maori.nz' Approved

The Council of InternetNZ unanimously endorsed the creation of the new second level domain '.maori.nz' at its meeting today. The approval marks the creation of the first new second level domain in the New Zealand namespace since 1996.

The decision is the penultimate step in a process which began in November 2001 when the New Zealand Maori Internet Society Inc/Te Whanau Ipurangi proposed the creation of the new second level domain. InternetNZ, the manager of '.nz' has since undertaken a major consultation with the wider Internet community in New Zealand, which saw 91.7% support for the new domain in a straw poll in March 2002, followed by a raft of submissions in support of the proposal.

"The Council had hoped to also sign off on the implementation process for the new second level domain today, and name the start date. However, there were a range of concerns about how to make the launch of '.maori.nz' as equitable as possible, so the Council has deferred this for further consideration", said InternetNZ President Keith Davidson.

The new Domain Name Commissioner and the '.nz' Oversight Committee will do further consultation and then make recommendations to the August 30 Council meeting as to the best process to follow.

Karaitiana Taiuru, Chairperson of Te Whanau Ipurangi was present by teleconference for the vote to establish '.maori.nz'. Taiuru thanked the Council for its support, noting that the decision would allow Maoridom to take its full place in the modern Internet.

"InternetNZ is conscious that this is an historic decision, and while we would have liked to announce a go-live date today, we felt that we had to get all the implementation issues sorted out properly first. What we are all after is a successful, fair, and hassle-free launch of '.maori.nz' and the Council believes that is worth waiting the extra month." Davidson concluded.

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