A couple suggestions.

[Hypernoma]

I agree with everything Benschie has said. Aus really is amazingly expensive and the costs do not seem to be coming down particularly quickly. When NI first started we struggled to get an aussie server at all as none of us had an australian credit card. Thankfully australia recently discovered paypal...

At present I pay a considerable sum every month running NI. I don't mind doing it as long as my employers continue to pay me but two aussie servers is the same cost as the US box. If players are willing to make regular donations to NI earmarked for australian servers then as long as those donations continue I'm happy to run more australian servers. As it is, I simply cannot afford to run even more servers and not get evicted from my flat.

In regards to discussions about free servers, I encourage anyone to approach me but please understand that private individual requests for hosting servers will not be accepted. This is simply a flat rule we have due to past experiences. If you would like to introduce me to a corporation that would be happy to help NI then please feel free (they're much easier to sue than a 14 year old living at home with no assets you see...)