Being able to finally edit the gTLD namespace is an important -- I would say inevitable -- consequence of IPv6 adoption. The fantastic number of IP addresses this protocol will introduce needs to be met with a relaxation of the domain naming rules. As is, we are already having all sorts of problems coming up with domain names every time we try to register to one. And it doesn't help at all that ICANN allowed for an entire parallel economy to be built around this.
The fact this will become expensive (very), does put this parallel economy to the side, which can only be a good thing and guarantees names are attributed on the basis of real usage and not as something that will be eventually used as a commodity. Before questioning where the money goes or what will be done with it, I do feel like congratulating ICANN for this decision. It gives some breathing room to the current domain naming woes, it contributes to business identity in the web, and it gives the finger to the cancer that is the domain name reselling business.
But... it solves nothing concerning the actual problem that is SLD name assignment. And this is where I would really want international agreements, under the sponsorship of ICANN, to happen. I understand it is almost childish to expect at this point domain name reselling to be banned. It was allowed to happen when something could have been done about it (a well deserved slap in the face of those defending that the internet should be deregulated no matter what), and there's nothing that can be done about it now. However we face a time in a not so distant future where no more meaningful names can be realistically given to an SLD. And when that happens, a new type of business will emerge (selling SLDs under a gTLD, or subdomains under a SLD) and we will no longer be able to provide a complete and independent identity to our domain name.