Activity report Q3 2024–25

InternetNZ provides .nz as a public good.  Aotearoa New Zealand has a high-trust domain name service, and a well-functioning Internet as critical infrastructure. 

A thriving .nz provides funding to invest back into our communities so we support an Internet that benefits all.

InternetNZ will increasingly be able to measure the impact its operation has on the climate.

The scheduled work to update DNSSEC settings in accordance with industry best practices was finished. This included aligning the algorithms used for DNSSEC signing with best practices, retiring SHA-1 based Delegation Signer records as per industry standards, and implementing new NSEC3 usage guidelines as per BCP 236 / RFC 9276. Further enhancements were made to ZSK and KSK rollover timings and TTLs. This additional planned work was part of the initiatives outlined in the previous quarter.

This quarter the .nz Operations team began dedicating Fridays (with the exception of urgent operational needs) to focussing on technical debt, systems research and explorative collaborative development. Outside of technical debt reduction, team members have used this time to collaborate on evaluation, discovery and understanding of new platform technologies and operating methodologies relevant to future challenges and directions observed in the wider technical operations space.

.nz rules

A presentation on .nz rules was delivered, and two current .nz rules topic areas were workshopped (protection of te reo Māori principle, and focus areas for DNS Abuse Strategy) with Council in early December. 

Following consultation, the options for the .nz conflicted names process was presented to the .nz advisory committee.  The committee endorsed an option to take to Council in February.  Implementation planning and communications have commenced. 

A focus on business growth through new services and stimulated growth will support InternetNZ’s
strategy and goals.

Understanding the drivers of our business model and public impact funding enables InternetNZ’s
business model to be resilient and better able to
respond to future changes. 

In this quarter, InternetNZ launched a new educational project JumpStarter for people who plan to start a business or are at early stages of doing so. JumpStarter offers advice and guidance on key aspects of getting a business off the ground and centers a website and a domain name as key digital assets for a business. Moving forward, JumpStarter will be a tool to generate qualified leads for .nz registrars, and run scalable .nz campaigns and experiments.

The launch of the Registry Lock (Lite) add-on feature for .nz domains has been postponed. A new round of customer centric design improvements is currently underway.

.kiwi customer support was fully onboarded this quarter, with the successful implementation of a Jira Service Desk to streamline and efficiently manage all incoming email inquiries.

*Domains Under Management 

InternetNZ strengthens Te Tiriti o Waitangi within our own internet community and internet governance.

InternetNZ’s journey to being a Te Tiriti o Waitangi centric organisation is visible to our kaimahi, partners and internet communities.

Te Ao Māori perspectives increasingly inform our mahi.

The comprehensive Te Tiriti Plan provides focus and definition of what Te Tiriti centred means for INZ Group in any particular year.

A clear NZ perspective and narrative on internet governance policy supports an open, free, secure and interoperable Internet because it’s critical to Aotearoa's economic growth and social and cultural wellbeing.

InternetNZ advocates for a single, global Internet and its multistakeholder governance. We work to model, defend and improve this model of internet governance.

InternetNZ participates in forums and processes to help  shape an internet that benefits all the people of Aotearoa.

NZ’s voice is informed by our internet communities’ perspectives. We are able to present their perspectives and our insights into national, regional, and international forums and meetings.

Internet Governance

InternetNZ engaged in a number of Internet governance forums and meetings during the Quarter to support the multi-stakeholder Internet governance system, maintain relationships with the international Internet community, and help shape the Internet’s development for the benefit of Aotearoa and its people. This included (in person and virtual) attendance at ICANN81 and the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) 2024. Three staff attended Australian Internet Governance Forum (auIGF) at the end of October, and one spoke on a panel in support of multistakeholderism.  

In terms of our work to defend, evolve and strengthen multistakeholderism in decision-making and dialogues about the Internet, we turned our focus this Quarter from the Global Digital Compact process to the WSIS+20 process. We are engaging in that process as part of A Technical Community Coalition for Multistakeholderism (TCCM).  We continue to be an active member of the Secretariat of the TCCM, and we were a key contributor to growing the coalition and undertaking its work during the Quarter. 

In October TCCM released a statement on Global Digital Compact (GDC) adoption, in November we organised and ran an in-person event for members in the sidelines of ICANN81 to discuss how we work as a coalition, and to form up a draft strategy and workplan for the TCCM as we approach WSIS+20 in 2025. In December, TCCM hosted a TCCM launch event at IGF 2024. InternetNZ spoke on a panel in support of multistakeholder Internet governance and the work of the TCCM this Quarter at the auIGF.

We met with MBIE on their resourcing and support of internet governance particularly in multilateral government processes.

NetHui 2025

Planning and engagement is underway for a series of smaller, more intimate ‘NetHui’ events in the latter half of 2025.  We are currently working on the communications, locations for regional events, and connecting with partners. As we move into this phase of ‘NetHui’, it is vital that we craft an event which aligns with the needs and desires of our community and we are actively working to gather these whakaaro.

Modernise the InternetNZ Constitution to reflect the legal requirements and being a Te Tiriti centric organisation

InternetNZ and our environment has changed since 2019. We need a refreshed brand that represents us as a Te Tiriti-centric organisation.

Constitution

In Q3, we undertook several engagements through surveys on online hui with members in relation to the proposals set out by the Codesign group. Additionally, the programme focused on the writing of the Drafting Guidelines which were released at the end of Q3 on Dec 18th.  

The Drafting Guidelines were developed with input from the co-design group, staff, Council members, and external experts. They reflect insights gathered from our members and the wider community and will guide us in writing the final constitution. While the guidelines don’t detail every clause or word, they aim to address all essential points and changes needed.

Also in Q3 staff developed and commenced a consultation process on the Drafting Guidelines to enable the proposed constitution to be drafted and ratification through a Special General Meeting or other process.

Strategy 2026-31

We worked on the high-level strategy approach and process in Q3, and this was approved by the Council in December.  Expanding the planning process and timing of engagements and communications will commence in January.

Registrars understand their obligations and implement best practices.

Registrars are responsive to domain name holder requests.

Domain name holders are aware they can contact the Domain Name Commission with complaints and enquiries.

As a membership organisation InternetNZ continues to provide a number of avenues for membership to engage on accountability, strategy, public policy and key projects.

InternetNZ builds strong reciprocal partnerships and relationships that support engagement with Māori communities and the Internet community.  

We ensure we have sustainable funding models into the future.

Our Internet governance role is supported through community partnerships and grants, relationships and collaborations. 

We demonstrate InternetNZ’s public good role through the sharing of insights, research, and case studies of impact.

Membership engagement activities

We held two successful end of year stakeholder events in Auckland and Wellington that were well attended.  These events also enabled input to our draft Goals for 2025/26.  Further, opportunities to attend presentations on internet governance and the draft Constitution have also been offered.

We delivered the Drupal 10 update for key membership platform - CiviCRM - completing work first proposed in 2019. 

Responding to membership feedback through the survey, a new membership newsletter has been developed to streamline the number of messages members receive from InternetNZ.  Options to reintroduce member-to-member emails have been explored and in January we will commence initial implementation planning.

A revised Code of Conduct has also been drafted, and this will also support the Constitution review implementation.

Funding

This quarter most of the web accessibility grantees were completing their kaupapa. We held a session with those who received funding in this grants round to discuss lessons learnt and to enable them to network with one another with the aim of fostering an ecosystem of organisations.

The majority of funding for this financial year has been allocated. We are on track to meet our funding to Māori entities by year end.

Our participatory grant round with Tāiki E! Is continuing to develop with several components now complete or underway. We are planning an in-person engagement next quarter, and writing of a report outlining the process and lessons learnt. We are hopeful that the report will provide InternetNZ with experience in participatory funding that holds space for communities to lead, and how we work alongside communities in a more balanced and holistic manner. 

Community fund 

We commenced work on the options for a long-term sustainable community fund.  And we will finalise the approach with options for approval as part of the March Budget discussions.

Internet Insights survey

The Internet Insights survey has been completed and we have received the report.  It indicates similar trends to last year.  We will likely release the report in the first week of March, and communications and media opportunities are underway.

Public Policy agenda for 2025

Following workshopping with the Council in early December, we have developed communications on the chosen topic areas (digital equity, DNS/Cybersecurity, false information online, platform regulation).  Work on false information online will commence in January, alongside planning for digital equity.