Update: The .nz Advisory Panel’s review extended due to Covid-19

Nobody in New Zealand is untouched by the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s been a tough and strange period.

This has obviously meant changes to the Panel’s work.

We as a Panel had aimed to have proposed options out for consultation with a wide group of stakeholders this month. Following that, we would go through the consultation submissions and propose recommendations to InternetNZ.

That consultation round would have provided views and information for us to consider in making these recommendations. We were looking at a wide array of engagement options - online and in person - to hear from a good cross-section of New Zealand. We had found our NetHui session to be wonderfully helpful because we heard thoughts and ideas from both technical and non-technical people. We wanted to replicate that with a nationwide roadshow, online forums, and other face-to-face meetings.

Obviously in the current climate, face-to-face meetings are not feasible.

So, with that in mind, we have agreed to extend our process to the end of September. This will allow us to complete something we are all very committed to seeing through.

We are working on the engagement model. A big focus is how we might fill in the gaps we face within this changed environment. Rest assured, we are still aiming to reach as many New Zealanders as possible. The Options Report is scheduled to be released for a 4 week consultation in July.

I hope everyone is looking after themselves. I’ve been really proud of the way the Panel and the team at InternetNZ have pulled together to try and make this work. 

I look forward to hearing all of your thoughts when we put out the Options Report.