--- title: History of the domain name maori nz description: An early assertion of tino rangatiratanga in the digital world. A benchmark for other Indigenous Peoples, the heart of Māori data sovereignty. url: https://www.taiuru.co.nz/history-maori-nz/ markdown_url: https://www.taiuru.co.nz/history-maori-nz.md type: post slug: history-maori-nz author: Karaitiana Taiuru published: 2026-11-10T00:32:28Z modified: 2026-11-10T00:32:28Z language: en-NZ taxonomies: category: - Domain Names - Internet Governance word_count: 15184 tokens: 22845 --- # History of the domain name maori nz First written in 2012. Republished in 2026 with the original proposals, submissions and media releases. The significance of .maori.nz goes well beyond a web address. It was an early assertion of Māori identity and tino rangatiratanga in the digital world. It set a benchmark for other Indigenous Peoples seeking their own place online, and it anticipated many of the questions now at the heart of Māori data sovereignty: who names us, who controls those names, and who decides how we are represented. Yet the history of the internet in New Zealand that InternetNZ commissioned gives .maori.nz and .iwi.nz a single sentence between them. I wrote this paper in 2012, a decade after .maori.nz was created, because the history was already being written out of the record. In 2026 the whakapapa of .maori.nz is still not well known. We rightly celebrate today’s Māori technology leaders, but we have largely forgotten the pioneers who cleared the path for them. On 5 September 2002, .maori.nz went live. It was the first new second-level domain added to the .nz name space since the original ten were confirmed in 1997, and it is believed to be the first domain in the world named after an Indigenous people that is open to everyone, with no moderator deciding who qualifies. It was created by Māori, for Māori, and any Māori person, whānau, hapū or organisation could register a name in it. It did not come from the Government or from InternetNZ. A small group of volunteers in Te Whānau Ipurangi, the New Zealand Māori Internet Society (NZMIS), spent five years and three attempts getting it created, and along the way faced politics, indifference and open racism. The public straw poll in March 2002 settled the question: 1,623 people voted, and 91.7 per cent were in favour. No other .nz domain proposal has come close to that level of participation. The paper is republished here with the original proposals, submissions and media releases so that the people who made it happen, and the decisions they made, are properly recorded. Contents Introduction The first attempt: 1997 The second attempt: 2001 The third and successful attempt: 2002 .maori.nz is approved Why .maori.nz was historically significant Why .maori.nz was not moderated Growth of .maori.nz, 2002–2016 māori.nz: the first Indigenous internationalised domain name Macrons in .nz Contingency plans History of NZMIS, 1997 to early 2000 Key people Appendices Appendix 1: Submissions on .maori.nz, 1997 Appendix 2: NZMIS and ISOC Aotearoa .maori.nz proposal (English) Appendix 3: NZMIS and ISOC Aotearoa .maori.nz proposal (te reo Māori) Appendix 4: NZMIS successful .maori.nz proposal Appendix 5: Public submissions on .maori.nz Appendix 6: Public submissions on implementing .maori.nz Appendix 7: ISOCNZ policy for new second-level domains, 1997 Appendix 8: InternetNZ media release, 12 March 2002 Appendix 9: NZMIS media release, 19 July 2002 Introduction In 2012 there was public controversy about who created the internet. It is well established that Dr Vint Cerf and his colleagues did, and they were able to speak up and correct the record. That episode prompted me to write this paper. If the engineers who built the internet could see their own history disputed, Māori achievements online were at even greater risk of being forgotten or rewritten. Māori history has been rewritten many times. This paper is an attempt to record the history of .maori.nz accurately, because it was a major achievement for Māori, and for Indigenous Peoples online who need to be represented on their own terms. Native American nations have their own domain names, nsn.us and nsn.gov. It is not clear how, why, by whom or even exactly when they were created. The earliest reference to nsn.us I have found is in the Internet Monthly Report of March 1995, although the name appears to have been officially recognised only in 1997. .maori.nz and .iwi.nz could easily suffer the same anonymous history. Had the lessons of nsn.us been recorded, they could have been shared with Māori. In the same way, our experience can be shared with other Indigenous Peoples seeking their own domain names in a digital world where Indigenous Peoples remain largely digitally colonised. The record is already being distorted. Over the years several people and organisations have claimed responsibility for .maori.nz, although none of them were responsible, and one individual has deliberately rewritten the facts online to fit his own account. Academic research that relies only on media articles and the limited material still publicly available online has repeated these errors. I am also aware that some gatekeepers have deliberately deleted information they would prefer to see forgotten. Most people assume that the Government, InternetNZ or some other organisation created .maori.nz. In fact a small core group of three people persevered for five years, through politics and racism, so that all Māori online could have their own identity. In 2012, having read several theses while contemplating my own, I found that Māori internet issues and representation were attracting growing academic interest, but not one thesis had all of the facts right. The most common misconception is that there were two attempts to create .maori.nz, led by a large and well-resourced organisation. There were three attempts: one by a lone individual, then two by a small core of volunteer advocates. Critics with no knowledge of how decisions about .maori.nz were made, particularly the decision not to moderate it, have also made uninformed and outlandish claims. The story of how our community has protected Māori names in the domain without a moderator has never been told in full. It explains why we chose not to moderate, and it may help other Indigenous Peoples managing their own domain names. The most peculiar part of this history is that InternetNZ commissioned a book on the history of the internet in New Zealand and gave .maori.nz and .iwi.nz one sentence in the entire book. .maori.nz was first conceived by Ross Himona. The person who introduced me to the .maori.nz debate, and who supported me throughout the years that followed, was Te Rangikaiwhiria Kemara. Without the continuing personal support of Ross Himona and Te Rangikaiwhiria Kemara, .maori.nz would not exist. Māori would probably be looking at a new generic top-level domain costing close to a million dollars, or still be arguing for fair representation online, or might have taken a claim to the Waitangi Tribunal. The first attempt: 1997 In 1997 Ross Himona was working for Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust in Wellington, the national body for the kōhanga reo early childhood movement. The Trust wanted an internet presence under the name kohanga.ac.nz. At the time .ac.nz was moderated and restricted to tertiary institutions. The moderator told the Trust that kōhanga reo were not academic institutions and could not use .ac.nz. Nor were they eligible for .school.nz, which was also moderated. Because the Trust, which administers more than 750 kōhanga reo, is a registered charitable trust, it was told to use .org.nz. That same year ISOCNZ (the Internet Society of New Zealand, now InternetNZ) called for public submissions on new second-level domains. This was a chance for kōhanga reo, and Māori generally, to be represented fairly online, and Ross applied for .maori.nz. Several submissions supported the application (Appendix 1), but ISOCNZ decided against creating any new second-level domains. Ross received an avalanche of anti-Māori email from members of the public and from some ISOCNZ members, while Māori names were being cybersquatted at a high rate, a problem that continues today. Disillusioned, he and Kamera Raharaha formed the first Māori organisation to support Māori on the internet: the New Zealand Māori Internet Society. It began with about ten members, no website and one goal: to have .maori.nz created. Ross’s own account of these years is in the section History of NZMIS, 1997 to early 2000. The second attempt: 2001 In early 2000 Ross relaunched the Society through an email list and appointed an interim executive, with me as Chairman. My main task was to have .maori.nz created and to build a place where Māori online could network. The first step was to incorporate the Society, because only a legal entity could apply for a new second-level domain. The next was a website to gather support. The Society had no money and the web was still young, so for several months we used free hosting and a free domain. InternetNZ then sponsored an .org.nz address. It still did not represent who we were, but it was the best fit available at the time. It is no longer used. We also believed that forming a chapter of the international Internet Society would give NZMIS more influence and a wider support network. We completed the applications, and several influential people from InternetNZ agreed to help and to join. The resulting body, ISOC Aotearoa, combined NZMIS executive members with InternetNZ people, most of them current or former members of the InternetNZ executive. The InternetNZ members felt they were best placed to write the .maori.nz application, and NZMIS agreed. That application, submitted jointly by NZMIS and ISOC Aotearoa (Appendices 2 and 3), was our first, and it failed. It still puzzles me why some of InternetNZ’s most influential members chose to join us, volunteered to write the application, and then produced one that did not succeed. The third and successful attempt: 2002 The successful application rested on three years of consultation with Māori individuals and organisations, thousands of volunteer hours from the 1999–2002 executive, constant invitations to Māori to join NZMIS and support the application, and generous koha that paid for it. Even so, InternetNZ first returned the application as insufficient, despite the fact that this country’s Indigenous people, and its Māori language, were asking to be represented on the internet. Ten months later the revised application (Appendix 4) was accepted, passed the scrutiny of InternetNZ Council members and went to a public straw poll. The poll closed in March 2002, and InternetNZ announced the result on 12 March (Appendix 8). Straw poll results, March 2002 Vote Number Share For 1,490 91.7% Against 131 8.1% Abstain 2 0.2% Total 1,623 No other second-level domain vote has come close. The year before, the proposal for .bank.nz drew just under 400 voters and 65 per cent support. At the time of the vote NZMIS had around 1,600 members and supporters, as well as backing from several key media organisations, while InternetNZ’s membership numbered in the hundreds. The result reflected the size of each organisation’s community. Shortly after the vote, the NZMIS executive resigned together to make way for new people. In hindsight, it marked the end of the most powerful Māori lobby group on the internet. .maori.nz is approved After the straw poll and a further round of public submissions on how the domain should be implemented (Appendices 5 and 6), the InternetNZ Council unanimously approved .maori.nz on 19 July 2002 (Appendix 9). The domain went live on 5 September 2002, open to anyone to register a name. Why .maori.nz was historically significant It was the first new second-level domain added to .nz since the original ten were confirmed in 1997. It was the world’s first unmoderated Indigenous domain. .iwi.nz, which is moderated, came before it. It was the first proposal to succeed under ISOCNZ’s 1997 policy for creating new second-level domains (Appendix 7). It was the first domain in .nz created by and for Māori. It set a benchmark for other Indigenous Peoples. No other domain proposal has drawn so many voters: more than ten times InternetNZ’s membership at the time. Yet the authoritative history of the internet in New Zealand gives .maori.nz and .iwi.nz a single sentence. In the same way, nsn.us and nsn.gov go unmentioned in the history of the US domain name. Why .maori.nz was not moderated Once .maori.nz had been accepted, how it would be implemented went to a further round of public submissions (Appendix 6). The end result, after a number of discussions, was not to moderate .maori.nz. The reason was simply that the domain name was not about race. It was for any person or organisation that wanted to be identified online, or wanted their online content to be identified, as being Māori. No one has any right to judge how Māori a person is, or to decline an application because it was not Māori enough. It was also made clear by members of InternetNZ that a moderated .maori.nz would be fiercely opposed and deemed racist. I do not ever recall considering moderating .maori.nz, because of the basic fundamentals of being Māori. Growth of .maori.nz, 2002–2016 The table below shows .maori.nz registrations each December from the year it was created in 2002 to the end of December 2016. A number of factors should be taken into account when looking at the low numbers, including: Māori access to the web registrars that do not promote .maori.nz widespread domain name abuse in .maori.nz around 2012–2013, which coincides with the sharp rise in those years. .maori.nz registrations each December Year Registrations December 2002 365 December 2003 310 December 2004 373 December 2005 385 December 2006 458 December 2007 483 December 2008 534 December 2009 554 December 2010 621 December 2011 663 December 2012 1,143 December 2013 1,140 December 2014 1,061 December 2015 981 December 2016 900 The policy for applying to create a new second-level domain in .nz was retired on 30 September 2014, when .nz was opened up to allow registrations directly at the second level, without needing a suffix such as co.nz, net.nz, org.nz, geek.nz, maori.nz/māori.nz, gen.nz, health.nz, govt.nz, mil.nz or parliament.nz. māori.nz: the first Indigenous internationalised domain name māori.nz is the world’s first Indigenous internationalised domain name (IDN), that is, a domain name containing a non-English character, and as at 2017 it was still the only one. Although māori.nz looks almost identical to maori.nz, the macron on the ā technically makes it an IDN. māori.nz was made available on 26 July 2010. The Māori community never sought the way .māori.nz became a default for every .maori.nz registration, which in effect provides two domain names for one registration and lets the registrant use either version or both. It was decided by the IDN Working Group (Dave Moskovitz, Karaitiana Taiuru, Sam Vilain and Nick Wallingford), who considered it technically feasible and easier to manage than requiring two registrations for every .maori.nz name. It is also the most beneficial option for the Māori community and for the .nz community. Using the .māori.nz suffix does require some technical knowledge and changes to web servers. For visitors to reach a website at a .māori.nz address, or any other address with a macron, the web server needs a small configuration change to recognise the macron. Macrons and other non-Latin characters are handled using punycode, and a web server will often need the punycode address set up as a second domain name. In 2017 it was still not possible to use IDN email addresses properly. Macrons in .nz Macrons (ā, ē, ī, ō, ū) can be used in all .nz domain names, reflecting the correct written form of te reo Māori. In 2005 I wrote to the Domain Name Commissioner asking it to consider allowing macrons in .nz domain names, so that the Māori language could be written and used properly. I cited the Māori Language Act, the orthographic conventions of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori and Te Tiriti o Waitangi to show why the ability to use macrons in web addresses was important and needed. I was well aware at that stage that implementation would have some issues, but the international technical community had been looking for some time at solutions for other character sets such as Chinese, Hindi and Arabic. The biggest issue was getting the Māori language into technology. The ability to create macrons on computers and on the web was still in its infancy, and software that produced macrons was costly. There was the free Te Ngutu Kura Māori spell checker, which included a free macron package, and the commercial Te Kete Ipurangi keyboard (the original Māori language keyboard) was still in popular use. While Te Kete pushed the Māori language into technology and was popular with government and universities, its approach was to type umlauts and display them as macrons using special Māori fonts, which was innovative at the time. This caused a great deal of confusion, because people were typing umlauts rather than macrons, and it took a lot of rethinking and unlearning. The umlauts also created a problem for macrons in domain names, as some people were using umlauts instead of macrons. In 2007 the Domain Name Commissioner sought expressions of interest for a working group to consider introducing IDNs into .nz. The working group members were Dave Moskovitz, Karaitiana Taiuru, Sam Vilain and Nick Wallingford. The Domain Name Commissioner then invited two other experts to join: Wareko Te Angina from Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori (the Māori Language Commission) and Philip Greene, the InternetNZ Victoria University Cyberlaw Fellow, although I do not recall seeing either of them at meetings. There were three public consultations, on 20 December 2007, 18 July 2008 and 26 May 2009, covering a range of technical and implementation topics. Submissions ranged from the Māori language to copyright. On 26 July 2010 the ability to use macrons in .nz addresses was implemented. Uptake has been slow, there has been little publicity about the option to use macrons, and most registrars do not offer IDN registrations. An up-to-date list of registrars that do offer IDNs is available on the Domain Name Commissioner’s website. Contingency plans NZMIS had several fallback plans in case the application failed: seek assistance and co-operation from .ao create an alternative domain name system ask ICANN to create .maori consult Treaty experts. History of NZMIS, 1997 to early 2000 Ross Himona founded NZMIS. In 2000 the Society appointed him its kaumātua and an honorary life member. The account below is in Ross’s own words. In 1995 I first ventured into Cyberspace. That’s not long ago, but in Internet time it was quite early in the development of public access Internet in Aotearoa New Zealand. It was for instance well before the advent of Xtra and Clear and Ihug. At the time there were no New Zealand based Internet Service Providers with nationwide coverage, and I joined the US service, Compuserve, to be able to connect from the main centres in this country. The first thing I did was look for Māori on the Net, and for Māori content on the World Wide Web. There were very few Māori, and there were virtually no authentic Māori websites. What I did find in online forums, in newsgroups, and in websites, was that Pākehā were presuming to present a Māori perspective to the world on our behalf. Quite perturbed, I decided to build my first website, which is still there, called “From Hawaiki to Hawaiki”. In this website I set out to present clearly and unmistakably a Māori view of Māori, and to seize the initiative back from those who were presuming to tell our stories. I also became quite aggressively involved in various online forums and newsgroups in order to make the point about Māori ownership of matters Māori. Not long after, Kamera Raharaha (Te Aupouri) from Auckland also published her first website called Māori Organisations of New Zealand. We sought each other out, and worked together to develop what we saw as an authentic Māori presence on the Internet. These two websites became the pioneer Māori sites on the Web, and became models for many Māori who have since ventured into cyberspace as e-publishers. We soon became aware that the Internet in Aotearoa New Zealand was controlled by a small group of Pākehā, mostly linked to the universities, Waikato and Victoria in particular. It was the universities that had brought the Internet to the country. We thought that Māori ought to stake a claim to the Internet in Aotearoa. We realised also the enormous potential of the medium for Māori to present our stories and our perspective to the world. From the moment we published our websites we were both inundated with visitors from all over the globe, wanting to know more about Māori and Māori culture. The medium is available to all, affordable, and is a global medium. In 1997 the Internet Society of New Zealand (ISOCNZ) asked for submissions on second-level domain names. The names available were <co.nz>, <org.nz>, <gen.nz>, <net.nz>, <ac.nz>, <school.nz>, <cri.nz>, <govt.nz>, <mil.nz>, and <iwi.nz>. The <iwi.nz> domain name was only available to a very limited number of organisations, and only on application to a moderator. I thought at the time that Māori needed a generic domain name, and one that makes a bold statement about the place of the tangata whenua in the affairs of Aotearoa New Zealand. From our experience on the Web, Kamera and I knew that there was enormous interest in Māori, and in fact the Māori websites were the ones that made Aotearoa New Zealand unique in the world. Kamera and I were also acutely aware that Pākehā had pounced on some of our Māori domain names. <maori.co.nz> had been registered by a Pākehā in Southland before we could do it ourselves. Kamera managed to get <maori.org.nz>, and I registered <maori.net.nz> and <maori.gen.nz>. The USA domain names <maori.com> and <maori.net> had also been taken by non-Māori. They were registering them for commercial purposes without a thought for the rights of the tangata whenua to their own names. I was doing a technology contract at Te Kōhanga Reo National Trust at the time (in 1997) and applied to ISOCNZ for a new second-level domain <maori.nz>. The application was quite well supported given that it was submitted at very short notice. However, as this was a public process I then received what was my first avalanche of anti-Māori email. There were many more to come over the following years, for a variety of different online campaigns. I also received some very disparaging comments from a couple of members of ISOCNZ. In the event ISOCNZ decided against allowing any more second-level domain names. Kamera Raharaha and I then decided to form the Māori Internet Society with the long-term aim of wresting control of part of the Internet for Māori – Māori control of things Māori. We solicited membership and gained about ten members. However as we were both heavily involved in developing our own online presence on the Net, we did not actively promote the society at that time, but agreed that we would wait until more Māori became involved on the Internet. The Society needs active involvement by a core group of people who are prepared to become involved in the administration and the politics of Internet management in Aotearoa New Zealand. It also needs active support from a broad base of Māori internet users. I maintained a Māori Internet Society page in my website, and from time to time received a few requests for information. Early in 2000, after the interest seemed to increase somewhat, I decided to re-launch it via an egroups.com email list. There was immediate interest from a small group of Internet activists who thought that the Society should be incorporated, and who indicated that they were willing to play an active role. As Founder, I then appointed an interim executive to incorporate the Society and hold elections. The Chairman of that interim executive, Karaitiana Taiuru, has done an excellent job, and with his committee, is well on the way to converting our informal society into a vibrant and effective representative group for Māori on the Internet. Key people The people below were key to the creation of .maori.nz and the work of NZMIS. Adrianne Paranihi Andrea Malcolm Bernadette Murray Colin Heke Erana Wineti Godfrey H. Pohatu Hauiti Hakopa Hone Phillips Ivor Jones Kamera Raharaha Karaitiana Taiuru Kupe Waa Leon Symes Leona Karauria Michael Ross Paula Collins Pikiora Wylie Richard Orzecki Riki Robinson Ross Himona Tame Iti Te Rangikaiwhiria Kemara Teanau Tuiono Tiopira Hape Tony Murray Tumohe Clarke Vance Walker Appendix 1: Submissions on .maori.nz, 1997 The appendices below reproduce the original documents as written, including their original spelling. Kōhanga Reo submission Dear John, I realise this submission is way beyond closing date but I have only just become aware of the need to make it. To date not many Maori people outside universities, polytechs and govt depts have joined the Net. However they are now starting to join. Over the next year or so my project team plans to join up to 750 kohanga reo. I am the director of Project Amiorangi which is building a nationwide telecommunications system for Te Kohanga Reo National Trust, to link together all our Kohanga Reo, and later to link in all Maori educational institutions up to and including tertiary. A virtual wananga. I have recently tried to register a domain name for our Te Kohange Reo movement to be told today by Patrick O’Brien that as we are not a tertiary level institution we may not use <ac> and should use <org> because the trust which administers the movement of 750-odd kohange reo is a registered charitable trust. On the basis that most NZ universities and polytechs have purloined the title of <Wananga> from Maori, and have wrongly applied it to the tertiary institution only, I believe I should be able to use <ac> for our movement. For the Wananga in Maori society was and is a whole-of-life institution. His advice that if people look for us on the Net they will most likely look for us under <org> is absolute codswallop. They would most likely look under <maori> if it existed. The domain <iwi> does not adequately describe our movement either, but I am trying for that in the meantime. There are only ten second level domains at the moment, only one of which <iwi> is specifically Maori. Those Maori organisations for which that name is not appropriate are then forced to use a non-Maori domain. I believe the current system is inappropriate for this country which is bi-cultural, and the system certainly does not cater for the tangata whenua. However, I realise that changes may take considerable time to bring about, so I have an immediate request. Can the second level domain <maori> be registered ASAP. It is would be a suitable generic domain name until we can together devise a more bicultural system. Ross Himona Director Project Amiorangi Te Kohanga Reo National Trust Father Serafim Submission I would like to appeal against the use of iwi.nz as a domain name instead of maori.nz. I do not believe we have a right to define a domain name that is not representative of Maori. It may have been suggested by a Maori, but we should seek a collective opinion, not that of an individual or non-representative group. Thank you for your attention Father Serafim A Concerned New Zealand Citizen and Author of 101 Active X Controls, IDG – to be published 1997 Mark Cubey , John Waldon Tena koutou katoa I wish to support the call for the immediate registration of the .maori.nz second level domain name, and for a review of all .nz domain names to ensure that the right of tangata whenua to define themselves in their own cultural framework is protected by the Internet Society of New Zealand. Yours sincerely Mark Cubey John Waldon Philip Tremewan I support the immediate registration of the .maori.nz second level domain name, and a review of all .nz domain names to ensure that the right of tangata whenua to define themselves in their own cultural framework is protected by the Internet Society of New Zealand. Philip Tremewan Brenda Tahi Kia ora John I hereby submit the following in plea to the Internet society: the immediate registration of the .maori.nz second level domain name, and for a review of all .nz domain names to ensure that the right of tangata whenua to define themselves in their own cultural framework is protected by the Internet Society of New Zealand. Kia ora ano, naku noa, na Brenda Tahi Hinemoana Baker Kia ora John I write in support of the call for a second level domain name with the title ‘maori.nz’ – since speaking for myself, as a Maaori writer who lives away from her rohe and who possesses an essentially urban outlook, I don’t consider myself contained in the concept of ‘iwi.nz’. I also believe it to be very important for us as Maaori to define how we are described WHENEVER we are described, especially when such description involves access to something as globally significant as the Internet. I therefore support a review of all .nz domain names, with this in mind. Ngaa mihi ki a koe. Hinemoana Baker. John Waldon Kia ora John, It was a complete surprise to me that Maori should have to make a case for the establishment of an internet domain name in New Zealand. I was in Italy and Britan last year recommending to fellow epidemiologists and public health specialists that they search NZ of Maori health issues assuming there was a Maori domain name established. Health issues of indigenous peoples has become an important topic for world wide debate and scholarship, therefore easy access to Maori literature and data will be important and contribute to the leadership role New Zealand has established. As a Health Research Council sponsored Health Research Unit we use the internet to disemminate and collect health information. The organisation of this information on the internet is q critical factor in the suces we have in using this valued research tool. The Internet is changing the preception many people have of the world, and the role the NZ Internet Society will play in the profile NZ has with the rest of the world will be pivotal. The relationship between Maori and the rest of New Zealand was defined by the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 when the rest of New Zealand (non-Maori numbered perhaps 2,000,) was a very small minority. The apparent reemergence of the Treaty of Waitangi into the conscience of New Zealand has engaged much debate and surprise (from many,) about the conytemporary relevance of the Treaty. The most authoritative interpretation came from the Royal Commission on Social Policy in 1988, were the Commission stated the Treaty was as relevant today as it was when signed, and should be included in future social policy. You may ask what relevance this has to the NZ Internet Society, and I would suggest that the three principals of the Treaty identified by the Commission be recognised by The NZ Internet Society. The three principals are partnership, participation and protection. I do not think you need my interpretation of how the NZ Internet Society may incorporate these principals, but the establishment of a domain name for internet groups who identify as Maori would be helpfull. Encouraging the active participation of Maori in the business of the NZ Internet Society would in many ways enrich the society. I hope the NZ Internet Society sees the development of Maori Internet groups as a positive objectives in the development of New Zealand as a leader in world of the Internet. I look forward to your response. Yours faithfully, John Waldon. Research Officer. Te Pumanawa Hauora Department of Maori Studies Massey University P O Box 11222 Palmerston North NEW ZEALAND ISPANZ Submission to ISOCNZ from ISPANZ regarding new 2nd level Domains for New Zealand. ISPANZ endorses the comments made by the WDNZ ( http://www.wdnz.org.nz/isocnz.html) and adds the following points: Changing the existing system will make ISP’s jobs more difficult trying to explain and manage our customers’ domain names, and be more expensive for everyone to administer. Second level names should be kept to an absolute minimum. It will result in major problems and expense for all domain name holders trying to protect all possible names. One of the main reasons the change was proposed originally was to dilute the intrinsic value of existing names. This is a poor reason for change. Reality is that almost everything in society has a value. ISPANZ members believe there was no problem with the existing policies, and objects to everyone having to waste time over what are unnecessary and academic discussions and submissions. No ISPANZ member to our recollection has reported problems with nor suggested changes to the existing policies. The KISS principle works well here. ISPANZ supports the status quo Ron Woodrow Spokesman ISPANZ Hera White Kia ora John I support the registration of the .maori.nz second level domain name as a generic term rather than the specific iwi.nz. I also support wholeheartedly that Maori as tangata whenua should have the right to define for ourselves the naming and defining of our own cultural frameworks to ensure protection within the Internet Society of New Zealand. Hera White Head of Maori Studies INZ of TUANZ’ INZ is TUANZ’ special interest group for the Interactive Multimedia industry. The Hub of INZ has requested me to make the following public submission to ISOCNZ: Public Submission to ISOCNZ INZ is aware of a concern amongst its members about decision making regarding the .nz space that may affect their functioning in this space. INZ has been launched with a mission statement that promises to see to empowerment of all participants in the interactive process. With the current debate on second level domain names comes an opportunity to democratize the decision making process in the New Zealand .nz domain of the Net. INZ would like to see structures put in place, that guarantee the rights of all participants in the second level domains of the .nz space to have a vote on policymaking regarding their domains. INZ would strongly favour the full use of the tools of the Internet itself to achieve open , democratic debate, the formulation of questions for referenda and decisionmaking by on-line ballot. More specifically, INZ would endorse a structure whereby all third level domain name owners would have a right to vote on all issues affecting their second level and on all policymaking regarding their own domains in the widest sense. INZ would like to see debate starting on the formulation of a Cyber “Bill of Rights”, which would begin with guaranteeing the recognition of legal Title of Ownership to a Third level domain name and a corresponding protection of the investment made in building up the Domain and promoting it on the Net. INZ sees the coming of Net Usage Regulation as unavoidable, but it sees the opportunity for a small democratic country to trailblaze a truly democratic structure of decision making by the net community itself, that can be an example to other jurisdictions. Wiremu Kaa Dear John Hine, This is to advise you that I support the proposal to allocate a second level domain name that is being currently discussed by many Maori persons to cater for those Maori who are located in urban situations throughout the world and who are uncertain and wary about iwi affiliations. This request is requested on the basis of the need for a globally recogniseable domain that is dedicated and specific to Maori and their ethnicity, and the need to locate and identify Maori in an appropriate cultural framework that is distictly unique in a Global context. I would urge that serious consideration to this request which was initiated by Ross Himona. Wiremu Kaa Web Designers of New Zealand Submission to ISOCNZ regarding new 2nd level Domains for New Zealand From WDNZ Web Designers of New Zealand 1/ We see no valid reasons for any new 2nd level names. If there comes a time they are needed the market should determine what they are. 2/ We feel any more 2nd level domains will devalue and dilute the importance of existing .co.nz and .net.nz names which will make using the internet in New Zealand more complicated. Especially if we had both .co. and .com 3/ If there are now many hundreds of thousand .com names we see no validation in any excuse of “not enough space in the .co.nz domain space”. 4/ We do not see the “clashing of names” as a valid excuse for new 2nd level names. If a company called smith missed out on the 3rd level name of smith.co.nz we see it as a much better solution to be more specific or creative at the 3rd level eg smithshoes.co.nz rather than confusing the internet public with more 2nd level names 5/ Decisions such as this which could directly affect the future and livelihood of all WDNZ members both now and in the future should be made with adequate consultation and OPEN meetings between related parties especially web designers , content developers and ISPs. We feel that merely asking us for a submission does not go far enough to involving the internet community and would like to see more open discussion on this and many other related issues in the near future. WDNZ members including web designers from: Aardvark Akiko Press Online CWA Cybergrove NewMedia Cyberlink Dezignet E Central Expo Imachination Goldfish Design Melco Netguide Pearson Davis Promethean Stimulus Strategic Information Service Ltd @url Vidmark Productions WebFoot Publications Webdesign Web Workshop X64 Xtra InforMate Technologies Limited John, We would like to add our support to WDNZ’s submission on Level 2 domain names. Although we are not a member of WDNZ we agree with their arguments in their submission. We do not believe expansion will provide significant benefits rather (among other things) it will create confusion for web users now used to the existing level 2 structure. My 2c worth anyway before the close off!!! Regards Brian Andrews InforMate Technologies Limited Appendix 2: NZMIS and ISOC Aotearoa .maori.nz proposal (English) .Maori Second Level Domain Name Application To ISOCNZ Submitted by the Maori Internet Society and ISOC Aotearoa Chapter in Formation Steering Committee. The following application for the .nz Second Level Domain .maori meets all criteria as laid down by ISOCNZ policy. A strong and growing community of interest exists; an existing responsible organisation, the Maori Internet Society, undertakes to carry out moderation of the Domain; and it will be to the benefit of society generally in New Zealand that such a domain exists. 1 Community of Interest Maori in New Zealand have established a strong presence on the Internet, using a diverse range of addresses including maori.com,.iwi.nz, and addresses such as www.creativenz.govt.nz/arts/maori.html. The existing second level moderated domain name .iwi.nz has a limited frame of reference in that it refers to a tribal structure, rather than the Maori community with its full range of cultural, artistic, linguistic and social functions. Internet columnist Peter Sinclair has observed in an article entitled “Cyber-iwi Are Putting Their Culture Online” (NZ Herald, October 17, 2000) that during research he was “struck by the extraordinary richness of the Maori contribution to the Web, and fascinated by the impact of a global medium on a tribal culture.” The developing community of New Zealand Maori, which takes in urban Maori, and includes people with a sense of identification with their Maori ethnicity but a lack of traditional ties, is currently being misrepresented as a tribal culture by the exclusivity of .iwi as the “Maori” second level domain name. Indeed, though Sinclair has reported in depth the contribution of the Maori community to the Web and commented on the cultural importance of it, he has had to conduct a search to find the community of interest that he demonstrates does exist, because it is represented in a fragmented way. We submit that creation of the.maori second level domain will be used by Maori in many fields of endeavour. The creation of the second level domain name .maori.nz will also give overdue recognition to Maori using the Internet as an important and distinct community of interest. It will facilitate the exploration of the full range of interests of this community, as represented above, to be presented in an appropriate structure, that of .maori.nz. The application is presented by the Maori Internet Society, a group that is not tribal, but aims to represent the Maori Internet community. The aim is to look towards the future of Maori working as a community within New Zealand, rather than back towards a tribal structure that, though it retains its importance, represents one facet of the community activities. 2 General Principles Equality is a strongly held principle of our New Zealand democracy, and a strongly held principle of the global Internet community to which this application refers. The application seeks to have recognition of the rights to full independent recognition in the Internet environment, not only of the Maori community, but of ethnic groups generally within our country. The.maori application refers to a specific community of interest, that of the Maori people seeking to participate as a group in the opportunities of the knowledge economy and cultural development offered by the Internet. The rights of Maori to full participation in our New Zealand society are recognised in law and through the developing social understanding of the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi and the social contract pertaining to areas of national life that it represents. However this application seeks to invoke the rights of all cultural groups in New Zealand to have an Internet “home” and a defined space where their voices can be heard as part of their community. The application recognises that the domain name space does not seek to be a directory, and building a directory of Maori commercial interests, for example, is not the core intention of this application. Rather, the intention is to establish, through the .maori second level domain, that the multicultural society of New Zealand is represented in a fair and equal way to New Zealanders and the global Internet community. The Maori Internet Society and the ISOC Aotearoa Chapter in Formation Steering Committee hope that .maori should be the lead application for other cultural and ethnic groups of New Zealand, in seeking second level domains. These may well be presented in the multiple languages of “New New Zealanders”. As an example, the Chinese community may be a primary example of an ethnic group that has high uptake of the Internet and expertise in its technology. The Chinese community may at some point wish to express its sense of community, develop e-commerce in its first language (Chinese), but also wish to present itself as “of New Zealand”, that is, as part of the .nz domain name space. 3 Meeting The Changing Needs of NZ Society The.maori application therefore, seeks not to present the application as a special case, (though it has special features) but to affirm the voices of the many cultures of New Zealand society on line. ISOCNZ policy on second level domains states: It will be necessary over time for the second level domain name space to evolve over time to reflect the changing needs of society. The .maori domain name proposal, we submit, fulfils the intent of this provision. The name .maori is a reference that every New Zealander will immediately understand as referring to the community of New Zealand Maori, and no other term would carry this societal weight of understanding. Thus, we submit that the name .maori should be accepted as a natural progression in the development of the New Zealand Internet. Appendix 3: NZMIS and ISOC Aotearoa .maori.nz proposal (te reo Māori) Tono Māori mō ngā ingoa tōmeina taumata tuarua ki te ISOCNZ Tonoa e: “Te Whānau Ipurangi o Aotearoa”. www.nzmis.org.nz – ī-mēra heamana@nzmis.org.nz . Whakamārama: He rōpū tupu tonu Te Whānau Ipurangi o Aotearoa, he rōpū hoki e tūwhera ana ki te katoa, ā, hei waha kōrero anō hoki tēnei rōpū mō ngā āhuatanga Māori katoa e pā ana ki te Ipurangi. He whānui kē hoki ngā mātauranga i waenga i ngā mema 250 (neke atu) o tēnei rōpū, arā, ko ētehi he iwi tonu, he hapū, he marae, he kamupene, he rōpū mahi kore utu, he kaimahi tari kāwanatanga, he tāngata nō Aotearoa, he tāngata hoki nō tāwāhi, tae mai ki ngā Māori kei tāwāhi kē e noho ana, ā, ki ētehi atu anō tāngata ehara kē i te Māori. He rōpū tēnei kāore kē mō te whai moni, nā te aroha noa me ngā koha moni kē a ētehi rōpū, kamupene hoki tēnei rōpū i tū ai. E whā tau te pakeke o te Whānau Ipurangi o Aotearoa (NZMIS) ināianei, ka mutu, e tautoko whānuitia ana e ngā tāngata me ngā rōpū Māori maha. Toroa mai a – Karaitiana Taiuru Karaitiana@nzmis.org.nz Ko ‘ISOC Aotearoa’ te wāhanga Aotearoa (e hanga tonuhia ana) o te rōpū ipurangi o te Ao katoa e mōhiotia nei ko ‘ISOC’. E ai ki te ‘ISOC Aotearoa’, ko ana rauemi ko ana mema, arā ngā “tāngata hono” (ngā tāngata ipurangi o te ‘iwi whai-mātauranga’ nei) e whai hua ai mā te tautoko ake i ngā mahi a te ‘ISOC’ o te Ao, me te hiahia kia pai katoa anō hoki ngā āhuatanga ka pā mai ai ki te Ipurangi ki Aotearoa. Mō tēnei wāhanga, toroa mai a: Jenny Shearer, ī-mēra : jshearer@cs.auckland.ac.nz Tēnei Tono: E tutuki ana i tēnei tono ngā ture katoa a te ‘ISOCNZ’ mō te ‘.maori’ hei tōmeina taumata tuarua mō te ‘.nz’. Kei te piki haere te nui o te aro mai ki tēnei take, ā, kua whakaāe kē mai Te Whānau Ipurangi o Aotearoa māna tēnei tōmeina e whakatau, ka mutu, ka whai hua kē te motu katoa ki te pēnei. 1 Te Hunga Aro Mai Kua roa e kitea ana te Māori o Aotearoa i te Ipurangi, inā hoki ngā rohenga tōmeina nei: ‘Māori.com’, ‘.iwi.nz’, tae atu ki ‘www.taurawhiri.govt.nz’ me ‘www.maori.org.nz’, me ētehi atu. Ko te raru kē nei he whāiti kē te aronga o te ingoa whakawā tōmeina taumata tuarua nei ‘.iwi.nz’, i whāiti kē ai nā te mea ko ngā iwi Māori tonu kē anake i āhei mai ki tēnei ingoa, ka mutu, ka mahue mai ana ērā atu katoa o ngā Māori me ō te Māori āhuatanga katoa; ōna tika kētanga, ōna toi, ōna āhuatanga reo, ōna āhuatanga noho anō hoki. E ai ki te rīpoata nei “Cyber-Iwi Are Putting Their Culture Online” nā Pita Sinclair (he kairīpoata ipurangi), ka puta ki te niupepa nei te ‘NZ Herald’ i te 17 o Oketopa i te tau 2000, nō tana rangahautanga ka tūmeke ia kia kite ake i te huhua o ngā mea Māori ki te Ipurangi, arā tana kī “struck by the extraordinary richness of the Māori contribution to the Web, and fascinated by the impact of a global medium on a tribal culture”. Ko te raru nei ko te motuhake kē o te kupu nei ‘.iwi’ inā rā hoki kāore kē i te whai wāhi ētehi Māori katoa ki raro i tēnei karangatanga, arā rātou kei ngā taone kē e noho tūturu ana, me ngā Māori anō hoki i tukuna kia mātao haere kē ngā ahi kā roa o te kāinga tūturu. Āe, he ahakoa anō ngā rīpoata a Sinclair mō te huhua o te ‘Māori’ ki te ipurangi me te pai anō hoki kia perā, ka mate tonu ia ki te kimi haere i te hapori ‘Māori’ nei nāna anō i tohu inā rā te wehewehe kē. Ki tā mātou e tono nei, mā te whakaara i te tōmeina taumata tuarua nei ‘.maori’ ka whakamahi haerehia e te Māori puta noa i ana whāinga mahi. Kātahi tonu nei pea ka whakamanahia te hapori ‘Māori’ o te ipurangi. Mā konei anō hoki e kitea te whānuitanga ake o ngā whāinga katoa a tēnei hapori, ka mutu, mā te tōmeina ‘.maori.nz’ kātahi anō pea ka tika te whakaaturanga o tēnei hei hapori motuhake. E tukuna ana hoki tēnei tono e Te Whānau Ipurangi o Aotearoa, he rōpū tēnei ehara kē i te iwi tūturu engari ko te kanohi kitea kē o te Māori ki te ipurangi. Ko te tino whāinga ko te aro whakamua kē ki te hapori Māori, ehara kē i te titiro whakamuri kē ki te iwi, he ahakoa anō tōna mana tōna tapu tōna ihi tōna wehi, hei te Ao hurihuri kē nei he āhuatanga kotahi anake kē tēnei te iwitanga nō te Māori. 2 Tikanga Whānui He tikanga nui te mōtika tangata e hāpaingia nei e te kāwanatanga o Niu Tīreni, ā, e te hapori ipurangi o te Ao anō hoki, ā, nō konā anō i tono ai mātou. E tukuna ana tēnei tono hei whakamana i ngā mōtika tangata e tohu ana kia whai wāhi motuhake ake tēnā hapori, tērā hapori, ki te ipurangi, ehara kē i te mea mō te Māori anake, engari mō te katoa kē o ngā iwi rerekē kei Aotearoa nei e noho ana. E aronui kē ana te tono ‘.maori’ nei ki te hapori kotahi, tō te Māori, e kimi ana hei rōpū i ngā hua ipurangi o te ‘Ohaoha Mātauranga’ nei me ō te whakawhanaketanga ā-iwi anō hoki. E noho mana ā-ture ana hoki ngā tikanga kia whai wāhi atu te Māori ki ngā āhuatanga katoa o te noho hapori nei ki Aotearoa, ka mutu kei roto anō hoki i te mārama haeretanga o te motu whānui ki te Tiriti o Waitangi me ōna tikanga tēnei tikanga e mana ana. Ahakoa anō, e tukuna ana anō tēnei tono hei whakaaraara ake i ngā tikanga o ngā iwi katoa kei te motu nei e noho ana kia whai ‘kāinga’ motuhake ia hapori nei ki te ipurangi. E mārama ana anō hoki kāore i te tukuna tēnei tono ingoa tōmeina hei whai whakarārangitanga tohutohu, arā ehara kau kē i te mea e tono ana hei whakarārangi haere i ngā kamupene Māori, kāore. Ko te mea nui kē nei mā te ingoa tōmeina taumata tuarua nei ‘.maori’ e mana tonu ai ngā mōtika tangata o te motu nei ki te motu nei, ā, ki te Ao whānui anō hoki o te ipurangi. Ko te hiahia o Te Whānau Ipurangi o Aotearoa me te Kōmiti Ārahi o te wāhanga Aotearoa (e hanga tonuhia ana) o te rōpū ipurangi o te Ao, kia noho hei tono tuatahi kē tēnei tono ‘.maori’ mō te katoa o ngā tono pēnei a ngā hapori maha o Aotearoa, arā ngā tono tōmeina taumata tuarua. Ākuanei kei ngā reo kē o te motu nei e tohungia ana ēnei hapori. Hei tauira atu nei ko te hapori Hainamana nei tētehi e kaha ana te kōkiri i ngā āhuatanga ipurangi me te mātau anō hoki ki ngā hangarau whai pānga. Hei ā tōna wā pea ka ara ake te hiahia o te hapori Hainamana kia whakaatu ake i tōna haporitanga, ki te whakawhanake rānei i ōna ī-ohaoha i roto i tōna reo (Hāina), me te whakaatu anō ‘nō Niu Tīreni’ kē rātou, arā, kia whai wāhi i raro i te karangatanga tōmeina nei ‘.nz’. 3 Ngā Whakatutuki Kētanga mō Niu Tīreni i te Ao Hurihuri Nō reira ehara kē i te mea e tukuna ana te tono ‘.maori’ nei hei tono motuhake kē (ahakoa ōna āhuatanga motuhake), engari rā hei tautoko kē i ngā tini iwi o Niu Tīreni i te ipurangi. E ai ki tā te ‘ISOCNZ’ ture mō ngā ingoa tōmeina taumata tuarua: Mā te wā anō e whakawhanake te wāhi ki ngā ingoa tōmeina taumata tuarua kia rite ki te noho o ngā iwi ki Aotearoa nei. Kei te tutuki i tēnei tono atu ngā whakaritenga o tēnei ture. Kua mārama kē hoki te kupu nei ‘.maori’ ki te katoa o te hunga kei Aotearoa e noho ana, ka mutu, kāore kē atu hoki he kupu i tua atu o tēnei. Nō reira e tono ana mātou kia tau mai te kupu nei’.maori’ hei kupu mō roto i te whakawhanake noatanga o te ipurangi i Aotearoa. 4. Whakatauranga Ko te hiahia o Te Whānau Ipurangi o Aotearoa kia riro māna tēnei tōmeina taumata tuarua ‘.maori.nz’ hei whakatau. Ko tōna whakapono anō hoki kia noho tūwhera tonu tēnei tōmeina taumata tuarua kaua ki te tangata Māori anake, ēngari ki te katoa o ngā pae whakaata e whai kaupapa Māori ana (kia pono hoki tēnei whai), pēnei me ā ētehi whare wānanga, tari kāwanatanga, kura anō hoki. Nāku noa nā, Mō Te Whānau Ipurangi o Aotearoa, Karaitiana Taiuru Heamana – Te Whānau Ipurangi o Aotearoa. Mō ‘ISOC Aotearoa’ Jenny Shearer Heamana Appendix 4: NZMIS successful .maori.nz proposal Te Whānau Ipurangi/New Zealand Mäori Internet Society Overview New Zealand is a bicultural country with two official languages that may be spoken anywhere. As with any bicultural country, allowances should be made to accommodate both cultures. Presently the New Zealand Internet domain name system has not addressed the bicultural needs of New Zealand nor it’s growing Mäori Internet users. 46% of New Zealand Mäori have Internet access and 65% of New Zealand European’s have Internet access. A small effort was made in the past with the creation of .iwi.nz but this only caters to 30-40 groups in New Zealand, many of which are either not on the web or are not structured enough to apply for <.iwi.nz> (further discussion in Principle 2). 2. Qualifying Criteria Main Principles for Registration of Second Level Domain Names InternetNZ, which administers the New Zealand Internet domain name system, has defined the criteria for second level domain names. The criteria as follows: 1. There is a clear common interest shared by the entities that would reside within the domain – i.e. there exists a community of interest. 2. Communities of interest do not overlap, so far as is practicable. 3. The domain name clearly indicates or describes the nature of the community of interest. 4. The community of interest is certain of continued existence. These requirements are addressed in the following sections. Principle One: Community of Interest Te Whänau Ipurangi/New Zealand Mäori Internet Society is a large Incorporated Society of over 1200 members. Due to our diverse membership we are the only authoritive spokes-group for Mäori. We are a spokes group for organisations such as Te Puni Kôkiri (Ministry of Mâori Development) regarding the digital divide and are group members of other organisations such as the “Electronic Action Team Network (EATN)”. Most of the 1200 members are supporters of <.maori.nz>. We are applying for <.maori.nz> on behalf of all Mäori. Principle Two: No Overlapping of Communities of Interest. General It could be said that <iwi.nz> and <maori.nz> are overlapping names. However whilst it is true that <iwi.nz> could be subsumed by <maori.nz>, the reverse is not the case, for <maori.nz> is the much wider descriptor. <iwi.nz> The domain name <iwi.nz> represents a traditional social and political organisation, which today is evolving into an economic organisation as well. At the moment it would apply to between 30 and 40 recognised tribal groups, not all of which have become formally incorporated in the non-Mäori sense, and therefore eligible to register an <iwi.nz> domain name. There are presently about eighteen <iwi.nz> domain names registered, and we expect more to be registered in due course. With such low registrations it might be thought that it ought to be cancelled as a domain name. However it does represent a special form of Mäori organisation, some of which are also developing into major entities within the Aotearoa New Zealand economy. The modern form of these entities is developing out of organisations that have existed for as long as the history of the Mäori people in Aotearoa New Zealand, and no other descriptor other than <iwi.nz> can adequately describe them. To try to describe them by later imported names such as <co.nz> or <org.nz> would be to deny their special meaning, and their historical significance. It might also be thought that eligibility for the domain name <iwi.nz> could be widened to describe a greater range of Mäori organisations. The descriptor “iwi”, as it describes both a traditional and a modern organisation, has a clearly defined meaning in Mäori society. This is quite restrictive and is the meaning chosen by TWI / NZMIS, To widen eligibility would be to debase the meaning of “iwi”. <iwi.nz> has a definite place in the hierarchy of domain names as a traditional and modern social, political and economic Mäori organisation which is not described by any other domain name. <maori.nz> It could also be said that <maori.nz> would overlap many other domain names, and that Mäori people could adequately be catered for under existing names. Nevertheless, the most important factor is that “Mäori” is the way that Mäori people choose to describe themselves, and they are almost always described as “Mäori” by non-Mäori people. In this proposal Mäori people are simply asking that they be allowed to prescribe their own descriptor of themselves. We are not asking for anything new. We are merely asking that an oversight be corrected. It is understandable that Mäori domain names were not created at the time, given that the widespread application of the internet, and its widespread adoption by Mäori, could easily have been overlooked. <maori.nz> will be widely used by individuals and organisations, and we predict that it will be a popular domain name. Principle Three: Degree of Descriptiveness “Mäori” is the way Mäori people and their organisations invariably describe themselves, and it is the way they are described by others, the world over. The experience of TWI / NZMIS webmaster members is that tens of thousands of web-surfers from all over the world are looking for Mäori-specific information on the WWW, and that for a great many of them, “Mäori” best describes what is unique and special about Aotearoa New Zealand. We make the point, that this proposal represents a people asking InternetNZ to help them claim their right to name themselves. Principle Four: Certainty of continued existence It can be guaranteed that there will always be a demand for the <.maori.nz> domain name, such is the support for it among Mäori, and such is the likely continuance of a distinctive people named Mäori. Te Whänau Ipurangi / New Zealand Mâori Internet Society (TWI/NZMIS) is confident also that it’s 6 year existence will continue through it’s long term strategic plans, and the fact that it is a legal body registered as an Incorporated Society in 2000. Treaty of Waitangi Considerations Partnership – As partners to the Treaty of Waitangi it is time the domains named for the New Zealand Internet community reflected the makeup of our society. Granting this application demonstrates that the NZ Internet community is determined to become bi-cultural. Maori Language is an official Language of New Zealand The Mäori language is an official language of New Zealand regulated by statute. The current 2nd Level domain policy has very little regard to the this fact. The one and only Mäori 2nd Level domain <.iwi.nz> is so specific it only applies to about 30-40 groups. This is not a fair representation of an official language of New Zealand. Conclusion Te Whänau Ipurangi/New Zealand Mäori Internet Society and it’s membership believe that there is a strong case to be made for <.maori.nz> second level domain name and that it meets the key requirements as set out by InternetNZ Appendix 5: Public submissions on .maori.nz Archived submissions page: http://web.archive.org/web/20040820223324/http://www.internetnz.net.nz/dns/2nd-level-domains/maorinz-submissions/index.html Ketia Waaka – received on 5 June 2002 Tena Koe, My family and I recently heard about the idea of having the new domain name Maori.org. We think it is a fantastic way for those inclined to express themselves. It shows individuality and is very appealling to myself especially. We hope that it will come into effect as soon as possible, so that we can tell all of our friends and extended whanau of it’s existence. I know of many people in and out of New Zealand who would be interested in using this great domain name. I am writing this on behalf of four other people also. Ketia Waaka Toro Waaka Marion Waaka Bonny Waaka Renee Te Hau Hamuera Orupe McLeod – received on 4 June 2002 Kia ora te iwi, Mo to panui e hiahia ai koutou kia whaka- tu te tahi Papakainga rorohiko mo te iwi Maori. Kia ora koutou e kare ma. Anei taku koha tuhituhi nga kia mohio ai koutou ko au te tahi Tangata e hia ana kia awhina koutou mo tenei mea. Kia mohio ano kouotou i tuku-ngaatu au te tahi reta ki taku whanau me aku hoa mahi kia tuhi mai ratou kia koutou ki te awhi ai te maori mo tenai mea.. No reira, kia mau ai tatou te mea nei na. Ka pai te ra. Ma te ariki nui tatau hei mannaki Naku noa, Hamuera Orupe McLeod (Tamakaimoana) Kalani Koi Tarawa – received on 4 June 2002 Solomon Tipene – received on 4 June 2002 I fully support the application for a 2nd level domain name “Maori .nz” tendered by the NZ Maori Internet Society. I work for an open learning organisation called Mahi Ora based in Te Awamutu. As an education provider, we work hard to encourage our students to utilize the internet as well as other IT tools in their studies. There are currently 14,000 students enrolled on the Mahi Ora distance learning programme and the issue of a dedicated Maori internet site is often raised in the numerous consultation hui held around New Zealand. Having a dedicated 2nd level site can be extremely helpful when students wish to focus and narrow down the search process. If this dedicated site can indeed help those thousands of Maori that are now coming onstream, then it deserves support. Solomon Tipene Tauihu-External Relations Manager Sandy Walker – received on 30 May 2002 Tena koutou, I’m writing to support the proposed maori.nz domain name. I am part of a new company formed by a group of Maori. We would love to be able to clearly advertise ourselves as a Maori company who operates from a Maori perspective. Using maori.nz will definitely enable us to do this. The creation of iwi.nz was a positive move for all Maori. However the creation of maori.nz means organisations such as mine can also identify positively as Maori. Although there are currently alternatives that we could use in business, maori.nz is far more definitive and descriptive of who we are and what we do. Naku noa, na Sandy Walker Whaihua Consultants Ltd Robert R Dyer – received on 30 May 2002 Dear Sirs, I wish to support the application from the Te Whanau Ipurangi/New Zealand Maori Internet Society to create a new second level domain “.maori.nz”. Those of us outside New Zealand who cannot return there will be grateful for this opportunity to share in this new adventure to establish the Maori renaissance both within New Zealand and in the larger international community where it is winning increasing respect. In the 1940’s my father, Lt. Col. H.G. Dyer of the 28th. (Maori) Battalion in WWII, instilled in me his love and respect for Rangi Royal, Padre Harawira and his other friends in the Battalion. He taught me Maori, as he wanted me to devote my life to trying to bring together the traditions of Britain and its colonies and those of Ra iatea and its colonies, for I was a child of two worlds. Such an attempt was impossible in the New Zealand of those days, and my identity was concealed, so I have lived abroad in the pursuit of my parents’ dream. I believe I speak from the legacy of the Battalion of those days, in expressing my joy at this project, and the hope that it can be for me, from France, an opportunity to share what Maori and Pakeha learned together in those years. Robert R. Dyer Retired Professor of Latin and Greek Paris, France Des Te Kanawa – received on 29 May 2002 Tena Koutou Nga mihi nui ki a koutou. What a fabulous idea – I cant wait for this to happen! I definately will register my name and am still thinking of a domain name; perhaps something like www.manawhenua.maori.nz. Surely this comes under the Treaty Partnership ? naku noa Des Te Kanawa Hamilton Beau Reweti- received on 29 May 2002 On Behalf of the 300 strong Maori Education Caucus of the Ministry of Education I would like to endorse the application for the second level domain of maori.nz. The success of this application would be a strong indicator of the bicultural nature of our society, a recognition of the place of maori in NZ society, a magnet for maori to have their identity acknowledged in personal and business domains and a signal that NZ society has embraced the notion of inclusivity as a tenet of the ICT industry in New Zealand. Beau Reweti Chief Adviser Maori/Kaitohutohu Matua Maori Ministry of Education Tewhano Kaihe- received on 28 May 2002 Waitaha e, Waitaha e, Kia ata whakatere i te waka nei kei pariparia e te tai, ka monenehu te kura. Whakamarotia atu ano, ka whakahoki mai ki te kapu whakapipi. Ka mate kainga tahi, ka ora kainga rua! Kia ora Tatou, I wish to support the application from the Te Whānau Ipurangi/New Zealand Māori Internet Society to create a new second level domain “.maori.nz”. It is time that the Tangata Whenua were accorded there own means to communicate in this modern world with their own “branding” and Identity. I for one will use this medium rather than the UK based system I currently use. Makere Harawira- received on 28 May 2002 Tena koe, tena koutou I very much support the application for the second-level domain name of ‘maori.nz’ on behalf of all Maori. In my view, having access to a unique pan-Maori signifier is a crucial aspect of our development within the IT field and the online community at large. If this application is successful as I certainly hope, I look forward to being able to register myself and my company using an appropriate name such tekokako.maori.nz. Heoi ano Makere Harawira Te Kokako Consultancy Helen Savage- received on 27 May 2002 I would like to support the 2nd domain level for NZMIS as in the future I could place a site on the net for my whanau or other interested parties etc. Kia ora Helen Savage Jody Allen- received on 27 May 2002 Kia ora mai I would like to offer my support for the new, proposed 2nd level domain name – .maori.nz . I think it is an excellent idea, one which people with an interest in things Maori could use and one which may create more interest, in things Maori. I know there would be a number of people (especially Maori – myself included) who would see this as an opportunity to establish authentic Maori websites using this 2nd level domain name. With this in mind, I think more Maori content on the net would have many benefits for many people, Maori and non-Maori alike. This is particularly significant for all New Zealanders in this, United Nation’s Year of Cultural Heritage. The International community has emphasised the need for a specific focus on the protection of intangible cultural heritage, often embodied in indigenous languages. I feel this 2nd level domain name could only help. Mauriora ki a koutou katoa Jody Allen Kaiako Tikanga-a-rua/ Bicultural Educator Nga Mokopuna a Tanne-te-Waiora/ Maori Health Unit Wellington Hospital David Farrar- received on 27 May 2002 I support in principle the application to form an unmoderated 2LD of maori.nz. I believe that it is a good example of a community of interest and will be a beneficial addition to the .nz name space. As this will be the first un-moderated 2LD added to .nz in at least seven years there are a couple of issues that the applicant should be asked to consider before final approval is given. These are: 1) reserved domains Should any names be reserved? www.maori.nz? registry.maori.nz? nzmis.maori.nz? 2) initial application Some names will probably be very popular and may have dozens of people wishing to register them. The applicant should consider how on deals with initial applications. If one has it as pure first in first served then this will provide an incentive for registrars to try to submit hundreds of registrations all at the same split second when the new domain goes live and this could result in registry problems and encourage bad behaviour by registrars. A land rush period could be considered where applications may be listed and a random draw is held to see who gains the name. Or alternatively an auction could be held but this would be a significant policy issue. If a random draw is held the issue of whether there is a non refundable application fee has to be considered and also the issue of not allowing multiple applications from the one registrant. David Farrar. Tetauhou Nohotima- received on 27 May 2002 Kia ora, I would like to support the new 2nd Level domain name which is proposed . I think it is a wonderful idea to be able to have such a name which could be used by anyone with an interest in Maori. It would be my intention to register at least my own name when the domain becomes available like www.te-kokona.maori.nz what a beautiful way to portray ones self. I can think of one or 2 other names I would register. Please let us have our own identity. tetauhou nohotima Bernadette Murray- received on 27 May 2002 Kia ora I would like to support the new 2nd Level domain name which is proposed . I would be so proud to “advertise” and identify myself as maori. I look forward, with great excitement, to the day our application becomes a reality. Naku noa na Bernadette Murray Moerewa Northland. Taaringaroa Nicholas- received on 27 May 2002 To whom it may concern, I would like to wholeheartedly support the new domain name maori.nz. This is a name which is unique to New Zealand. It provides a place for Maori in the new Knowledge Economy and supports the current government’s Knowledge Wave policy. It provides a way of giving Maori a hand up at no cost. Well done to all those concerned. Taaringaroa Nicholas Rhonda Thomson- received on 27 May 2002 Tena koe, I would like to support the new 2nd Level doamin name which is proposed . It is my intention to register a name when the tld becomes available Naaku noa. Na Rhonda Thomson Art Adviser – Maori and Cultural Christchurch City Council Vaughan Puketapu- received on 27 May 2002 Kia ora Koutou, I am in full support of this being provided and it would create a unqiue way of being well positioned to effectively market Maori Arts and crafts as well as maori developed software. developed by Maori for Maori. I to would give serious thought to also utilising this for developing my own unqiue space and presence on the web. Vaughan Puketapu Systems Administrator Robert Sullivan – received on 23 May 2002 Kia ora, I support the creation of the maori.nz domain name as this will enable us to establish websites that are authentically Maori. The domain name is a similar initiative to the Toiiho trademark (see www.toiiho.com) which attempts to establish a way of ensuring the cultural integrity of artworks. Cultural and intellectual property rights were a feature of the recent “National Digital Forum” in Wellington. The establishment of the maori.nz domain name will enhance our ability to appropriately mount digital resources on the Web that pertain to Maori. heoi anoo, Robert Sullivan Te Kaiwhakahaere Maori / Library Manager, Maori Services Te Tumu Herenga / The University of Auckland Library Colin Heke – received on 20 May 2002 Kia ora, I would like to support the new 2nd Level doamin name which is proposed . I think it is a wonderful idea to be able to have such a name which could be used by anyone with an interest in Maori. It would be my intention to register at least my own name when the tld becomes available like www.heke.maori.nz what a beautiful way to portray ones self. I can think of one or 2 other names I would register. Please let us have our own identity. Col Heke Appendix 6: Public submissions on implementing .maori.nz NZ Maori Internet Society – received 5 July 2002 Kia ora Debbie, On behalf of New Zealand Māori Internet Society (NZMIS): 1. NZMIS desires a short period of time to “purchase” a selected amount of .maori.nz 2LD’s such as nzmis.maori.nz and other relevant 2LD’s for the society and to protect the mana and sensitivity of certain other names. 2. We support an initial “lottery style” opening for .maori.nz but would not like to see a “high non refundable” application fee fixed to each application as we believe it would discriminate many of the “community of interest”. We would support a small, or preferably a no application fee for the initial lottery opening. Nāhaku noa, nā Karaitiana Taiuru Chairperson NZ Māori Internet Society Steven Heath – received 5 July 2002 Dear DNC, Submissions are open on what conditions, if any, should be applied to the creation of maori.nz 2LD. I believe that no special treatment should be applied to the introduction of the 2LD. The approach of ‘first come first served’ should apply to maori.nz just like all other registrations in the .nz name space. I firmly believe that no names should be reserved for any reason in the registry, either on behalf of the applicant or anyone else. To allow this makes a mockery of the entire foundation of ‘first come first served’ polocy and is counter to what I believe are the fundamental principles of the .nz policy. Nor do I think should any access be granted for the applicant to register names before it is open to the local internet community. The policy does not grant any rights or benefits to the applicant of a 2LD request, they merely are requesting the creation of this 2LD and are not the custodians of it. One key area I think needs to be determined is a communications plan for the implementation of this 2LD. All stakeholders must be given ample time to prepare for the launch of this new 2LD. I would think that at least 60 days notice be given before registrations are accepted. This would allow awareness for potential registrants as well as for .nz name providers and/or accredited registrars to be able to support request for maori.nz names. This creation is precedent setting as it is the first to reach this point under the 1997 2LD creation policy. Therefore any allowances for this new 2LD would likely be requested for any subsequent applications that reach this point. Steven Heath PS Please note that I was a part of InternetNZ council when the interim ruling was made and did vote in favour of it. Te Ropu Whakahau – received 4 July 2002 Kia ora On behalf of Te Ropu Whakahau – Maori Library and Information Workers’ Association, I wish to support the creation of the maori.nz domain name. At the moment Wellington City Libraries, are allowing free access to a limited range of domains, from dedicated PC’s within the libraries and ‘iwi.nz’ is one of the selected domains. If we could have a comprehensive maori.nz domain, this would hopefully open up a far broader range of ‘free’ sites which our customers would access free of charges. The kinds of sites we are providing for our customers: are iwi.nz, org.nz, govt.nz, ac.nz , etc and so this action would show a real spirit of Treaty partnership, in allowing those without access to home computers, to come to the library and tap in to the wide range of maori sites. Our ropu would like to tautoko the previous submissions who argued for authenticity and the protection of cultural and intellectual property, the endorsement of the bicultural nature of our society, recognition of the place of Maori in our society, and the endorsement of the place of Maori in the Knowledge economy. Ann Reweti Secretary Te Ropu Whakahau Nadege Tissot – received 20 June 2002 From: Nadege Tissot, Project Coordinator, WAI 262. Tena Koe, On behalf of the Wai 262 Claimants, I send the following submission for the maori.nz domain name. The Wai 262 Claim, also known as the Indigenous Flora and Fauna Claim or the Indigenous Treasures claims (me o ratou taonga katoa) was filed in 1991 by Haana Murray of Ngati Kuri, Hema Nui a Tawhaki Witana (also known as Dell Wihongi) of Te Rarawa, John Hippolite (now deceased) of Ngati Koata, Tama Poata of Whanau a Rua/Ngati Porou, Katarina Rimene of Ngati Kahungunu and Te Witi McMath (now deceased) of Ngati Wai. The claimants believe that a maori.nz domain is a necessary step towards the recognition of Maori having their own identity on the internet. Because the iwi.nz is restricted to iwi use, the maori.nz is needed for other Maori organizations, Trusts or individuals that wish to mark their identity through their Website address. The Wai 262 Claimants would reserve the domain name wai262.maori.nz when available and use it instead of the wai262.co.nz currently being held. Kia ora, Nadege Tissot Precious Clark – received 20 June 2002 Kia Ora My name is Precious Clark and I am of Ngati Whatua descent. I do not purport to comment on behalf of my people. I make this submission on behalf of myself. To begin with I support the initiative of creating a second level domain name and commend the work that has been done to date. I do have a number of issues however, which probably should have been raised during the initial round of submissions, but I will raise them regardless. I disagree that the maori.nz domain name should me made available to all New Zealanders. There are huge commercial benefits that can flow on for Maori from the registration of this domain name and Maori should be the main if not exclusive beneficiaries of this domain name. The identity and word “Maori” belongs to Maori and non-Maori should not be granted the right to use that word without Maori permission. Furthermore, a non-Maori organisation should not assume ownership over the word “Maori” and thereby grant the right to use this domain name without Maori permission. Issues of this nature are currently the subject of a claim before the Waitangi Tribunal. The Wai 262 claim is a claim to indigenous flora and fauna and matauranga Maori (or traditional as well as developed knowledge). Wai 262 extends beyond this and at the heart of the claim is the right to tino rangatiratanga and ownership of taonga Maori which includes language and thus extends to the word “Maori”. It is undoubted that Maori will take issue with a non-Maori organisation or individual asserting ownership rights over a Maori name to the detriment of Maori. Although it is problematic to define what is a Maori organisation it is not impossible. The new Tax regime for Maori businesses looks at this very issue and while it is not perfect, this model provides a good base. Furthermore the “Maori Made Mark” by Te Waka Toi allows organisations that are in partnership with Maori to register to use the Mark. A similar approach can be adopted in this situation To this end it is suggested that when deciding a process for registration of the domain name, at the very least Maori should be given preferential treatment. I recommend that those who can prove to be a Maori organisation (based upon similar criteria set in the New Tax Regime for Maori Business and the Maori Made Mark requirements) or an individual who can prove Maori descent (similar to requirements set out in scholarship applications) should be entitled to register for use of the domain name over non-Maori. Thank you for your consideration. If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me. I do not wish to appear before the Select Committee. Naaku noa, na Precious Clark Appendix 7: ISOCNZ policy for new second-level domains, 1997 ISOCNZ Council, 21 August 1997 Purpose This document sets out the procedure to be followed in the establishment of a new second level domain with the .nz top level domain. It should be read in conjunction with New Zealand’s Domain Name Structure which sets out various policies relating to the .nz domain name space. The Process for Creating New Second Level Domain Names ISOCNZ views the creation of new second level domains as a very serious matter. Such domains, once created, are likely to never be removed. Consequently the following procedure is “conservative”. The onus is on the proposer to justify the domain and ample opportunity is provided for both supporters and opponents to provide input to the process. In the following “ISOCNZ Council meeting” is understood to be a physical rather than electronic meeting of the ISOCNZ Council.A number of time periods are given with minimum and maximum lengths. This is designed to allow ISOCNZ to avoid having crucial dates occur during major holiday periods. In most cases ISOCNZ is expected to meet the MINIMUM time period specified. Any individual or organisation may initiate the process of creating a new second level domain, or changing the definition of a current second level domain within `.NZ’,by sending a proposal to ISOCNZ at the address below. The proposal should clearly set out the justification for the new domain with respect to the principles governing second level domain names. If the proposal fails to address these expectations it will be returned to the proposer for further development. ISOCNZ will post appropriate proposals on the Internet and advertise a REQUEST FOR DISCUSSION (RFD) on its mailing lists and appropriate discussion groups. Not less than 60 nor more than 90 days after the RFD, ISOCNZ will issue a REQUEST FOR VOTES on the proposal. This straw poll is intended to measure support for the proposal. The outcome will be non-binding. The poll will take place by electronic mail with all voters submitting a standard ballot which will be distributed on relevant mailing lists and discussion groups. Votes will be accepted for the following 14 days. Votes will be counted by ISOCNZ or an agent appointed by ISOCNZ. Ballots will be declared invalid if they do not conform to the standard, or more than one ballot is received from the same person (email address). If in the straw poll, the proposal receives support from less than 70% of the votes cast, or receives less than 200 votes in total it will be rejected and no further consideration will be given.ISOCNZ will not entertain a similar proposal for twelve months. If the poll succeeds, the applicant will be required to pay a non-refundable application fee to advance the proposal. ISOCNZ will issue a REQUEST FOR SUBMISSIONS on its mailing lists and appropriate discussion groups and other appropriate outlets. The period for submissions will be not less than 30 nor more than 60 days. All submissions will be posted on the Internet for public review. At the first meeting of the ISOCNZ Council following the close of submissions, the Council will issue an INTERIM DECISION. The interim decision will be widely distributed to the Internet community, to the community associated with the proposed domain, and to the wider public. Further submissions on the interim decision will be accepted for a period which will end 14 days before the following ISOCNZ Council meeting. A FINAL DECISION will be made by the ISOCNZ Council at the first meeting following the meeting which issued the interim decision. This decision will be binding. Proposals should be sent to the Internet Society of New Zealand by e-mail to info@isocnz.org.nz. Appendix 8: InternetNZ media release, 12 March 2002 March 12 2002 Media release – InternetNZ .MAORI.NZ STRAW POLL SUCCESSFUL 91.7% of the voters in the public consultation over “.maori.nz” support the creation of the new second level domain. “The result of the Straw Poll is unprecedented, with over 1600 members of the New Zealand Internet community voting online,” said Sue Leader, Executive Director of InternetNZ. This compares with just under 400 voters in last year’s proposal to create “.bank.nz”, which only gained 65% support. “We believe that both the numbers voting, and the level of support, indicates the keen interest in the Internet as a development tool for Maori.” she said. The threshold for the Straw Poll, which is Stage Three of a nine step process, is a voter turnout of at least 200, of which 70% must be in favour of the application. The next stage is a public submission process over a two week period, and then the Council of InternetNZ makes an interim decision at the next Council Meeting on April 13. “The Council will be strongly guided by outcome of the Straw Poll.” Leader said. “It is also clear that the proposers of the new domain, Te Whanau Ipurangi – the New Zealand Maori Internet Society, have done a tremendous amount of work to ensure that people were aware of the Straw Poll and its importance.” Leader said. InternetNZ President, Keith Davidson, currently representing .nz at an international meeting, conveyed his congratulations. “I look forward to the process moving onto the next stage.” he said. “InternetNZ has a clear process to follow which ensures that all proposals are treated in the same even-handed manner. The Society originated to ensure that the Internet in New Zealand remained ‘open, uncapturable, and accessible’ to all New Zealanders,” she continued. “That is one reason the process to create new Second Level Domain Names is measured and thorough, and this takes time”. The process to create new Second Level Domain Names is grounded in Policy set by the founders of the Society in May 1997 after the original ten “.nz” domain names were confirmed. The creation of that Policy itself resulted from an extensive consultation process as the Society wished to ensure that the New Zealand Namespace was both stable and also able to be expanded if real need was demonstrated. http://www.internetnz.net.nz/dns/2nd-level-domains/ Ends For further information please contact: Sue Leader, InternetNZ exe.dir@internetnz.net.nz Appendix 9: NZMIS media release, 19 July 2002 19 July 2002 PRESS RELEASE New Internet Domain Names Available with Approval of maori.nz EMBARGO EMBARGO EMBARGO; Not for release pending meeting of NZ Internet Society, 19 July 2002 The New Zealand Internet Society today gave its final approval to the establishment of a new second level domain in the .nz structure, maori.nz. It is the 11th second level name for .nz, and is believed to be the first in the world named after an indigenous people. “Any group or individual will be able to register a maori.nz domain name, said Karaitiana Taiuru, chairperson of Te Whanau Ipurangi/The New Zealand Maori Internet Society, which proposed the name. “It will not be moderated.” Mr Taiuru said the .maori name was proposed because there were a lot of Internet users who did not fit the existing structures, such as .co or .org, but represented a clear community of interest. “It will be a way for people to identify themselves, their group, or their work on the Internet as being specifically related to Maori, whether it’s a hapu (sub-tribe), or, a cultural tourism organisation, or an artist,” he said. “Our research shows that people overseas searching for Maori groups or information on the net try .maori.nz. It’s one of the unique things about Aotearoa New Zealand.” There is already the iwi.nz second level domain, but that is closely moderated, Mr Taiuru said. “Only approx 36 groups are defined as iwi, and not all have registered. The iwi definition excludes a lot of people.” New Zealand’s largest domain name registrar, FreeParking.co.nz, will be helping NZMIS register and manage its domain names and websites. “General manager Richard Shearer said a date for when registration of maori.nz names is expected to begin will be announced shortly” he said. “It’s a good opportunity for groups or individuals to create Internet identities that clearly say where their interests are, and recognises New Zealand’s unique Maori culture and identity.” Today’s final approval was the culmination of a process the NZMIS began almost three years ago. Mr Shearer said any individual can propose a new name, but the proposal must show why a new name is necessary, and gain enough votes in favour of the change from among the Internet community. Final decisions are made by members of the New Zealand Internet Society, the non-profit group which manages New Zealand’s Internet domains. Membership of the society is open to all New Zealand residents, Mr Shearer said. The 11 second level names within the .nz top level domain are .ac, .co, .cri, .gen, .govt, .iwi, .maori, .mil, .net, .org, and .school. ///end. For further information: Karaitiana Taiuru Chairperson, Te Whanau Ipurangi / New Zealand Maori Internet Society Richard Shearer General Manager, WebFarm Ltd. Conclusion .maori.nz was never only about a web address. When Ross Himona applied for it in 1997, he was asking a simple question: who has the right to name Māori online? It took five years, three applications, an avalanche of anti-Māori email and thousands of volunteer hours before the internet community gave its answer. In March 2002, 1,623 people voted in the straw poll and 91.7 per cent supported the proposal. No other .nz domain proposal has come close to that level of participation. The decisions made along the way still matter. We chose not to moderate .maori.nz because no one has the right to judge how Māori a person is. Māori define their own identity, and a registry or a moderator cannot confer it. That principle has held for more than two decades. The same thinking carried through to the work on macrons and to māori.nz, the world’s first Indigenous internationalised domain name, so that te reo Māori could be written correctly in a web address and not only on the page. Looking back, .maori.nz anticipated many of the questions now at the centre of Māori data sovereignty. Who names us? Who controls those names? Who sets the rules for how we are represented in digital systems? Is Te Tiriti o Waitangi treated as a foundation or as an afterthought? We were arguing these questions over domain names in 1997, long before anyone argued them over data, algorithms and artificial intelligence. The lesson then is the lesson now. Māori presence in digital infrastructure is not handed to us. It has to be asserted, organised and defended, usually by a small number of people whose only resource is their commitment. That is also why this history needed to be written down. The record has already been distorted in three ways: people have claimed credit they are not owed, research has repeated errors from incomplete sources, and the official history gives .maori.nz and .iwi.nz a single sentence. The story of nsn.us shows how easily an Indigenous domain can lose its whakapapa altogether. I have republished the original proposals, submissions and media releases so that the record can speak for itself. I hope it means the people who made .maori.nz happen are properly acknowledged, and that other Indigenous Peoples seeking their own place online can learn from what we did, what we got right and what we had to fight for. To Ross Himona, Kamera Raharaha, Te Rangikaiwhiria Kemara and everyone named in this paper: nā koutou i para te huarahi.