Summary

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The majority voted against amendments introduced by Liberal MP Andrew Laming.

These amendments opposed the main purpose of this bill, which is to remove ministerial responsibility for approval of RU486 and related medicines. Instead, the amendments would have made some changes to the current process but fundamentally kept it in place. In other words, ultimate responsibility for approving RU486 would remain with the Minister. Senator Laming explained that his amendment ensures that Parliament will continue to have oversight over this controversial issue.(Read Mr Laming's full explanation and the associated debate here. )

This division was a conscience vote, meaning that members were not required to vote along party lines.

Background to the bill

The bill was introduced to amend the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 in order to transfer the responsibility for regulatory approval of RU486 from the Minister for Health and Ageing to the Therapeutic Goods Administration. This will make it possible to evaluate, register, list or import abortifacients such as RU486 (i.e. medicines intended to induce an abortion) for use in Australia without the approval of the Minister.(Read more about the bill in its bills digest (342 KB). More information, including its explanatory memorandum, is available here.)

Votes Not passed by a small majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Australian Labor Party (98% turnout) 5 Yes 53 No
Tony Burke Watson Yes
Anthony Byrne Holt Yes
Chris Hayes Werriwa Yes
John Murphy Lowe Yes
Gavan O'Connor Corio Yes
Dick Adams Lyons No
Anthony Albanese Grayndler No
Kim Beazley Brand No
Arch Bevis Brisbane No
Sharon Bird Cunningham No
Chris Bowen Prospect No
Anna Burke Chisholm No
Ann Corcoran Isaacs No
Simon Crean Hotham No
Michael Danby Melbourne Ports No
Graham Edwards Cowan No
Justine Elliot Richmond No
Annette Ellis Canberra No
Kate Ellis Adelaide No
Craig Emerson Rankin No
Laurie Ferguson Reid No
Martin Ferguson Batman No
Joel Fitzgibbon Hunter No
Peter Garrett Kingsford Smith No
Steve Georganas Hindmarsh No
Jennie George Throsby No
Steve Gibbons Bendigo No
Julia Gillard Lalor No
Sharon Grierson Newcastle No
Alan Griffin Bruce No
Jill Hall Shortland No
Michael Hatton Blaxland No
Kelly Hoare Charlton No
Julia Irwin Fowler No
Harry Jenkins Scullin No
Duncan Kerr Denison No
Catherine King Ballarat No
Carmen Lawrence Fremantle No
Kirsten Livermore Capricornia No
Jenny Macklin Jagajaga No
Robert McClelland Barton No
Bob McMullan Fraser No
Daryl Melham Banks No
Brendan O'Connor Gorton No
Julie Owens Parramatta No
Tanya Plibersek Sydney No
Roger Price Chifley No
Bernie Ripoll Oxley No
Nicola Roxon Gellibrand No
Kevin Rudd Griffith No
Bob Sercombe Maribyrnong No
Stephen Smith Perth No
Warren Snowdon Lingiari No
Wayne Swan Lilley No
Lindsay Tanner Melbourne No
Kelvin Thomson Wills No
Maria Vamvakinou Calwell No
Kim Wilkie Swan No
Rod Sawford Port Adelaide Absent
Dave Tollner Solomon Country Liberal Party Yes
Ian Causley Page Deputy Speaker Yes
Bob Katter Kennedy Independent Yes
Peter Andren Calare Independent No
Harry Quick Franklin Independent No
Tony Windsor New England Independent No
Liberal Party (99% turnout) 41 Yes 31 No
Tony Abbott Warringah Yes
Kevin Andrews Menzies Yes
Mark Baker Braddon Yes
Bob Baldwin Paterson Yes
Phillip Barresi Deakin Yes
Kerry Bartlett Macquarie Yes
Bronwyn Bishop Mackellar Yes
Alan Cadman Mitchell Yes
Steven Ciobo Moncrieff Yes
Alexander Downer Mayo Yes
Trish Draper Makin Yes
Peter Dutton Dickson Yes
Pat Farmer Macarthur Yes
David Fawcett Wakefield Yes
Michael Ferguson Bass Yes
Gary Hardgrave Moreton Yes
Joe Hockey North Sydney Yes
John Howard Bennelong Yes
Greg Hunt Flinders Yes
David Jull Fadden Yes
Michael Keenan Stirling Yes
Jackie Kelly Lindsay Yes
Andrew Laming Bowman Yes
Jim Lloyd Robertson Yes
Louise Markus Greenway Yes
Sophie Mirabella Indi Yes
Chris Pearce Aston Yes
Christopher Pyne Sturt Yes
Don Randall Canning Yes
Kym Richardson Kingston Yes
Andrew Robb Goldstein Yes
Philip Ruddock Berowra Yes
Alby Schultz Hume Yes
Patrick Secker Barker Yes
Peter Slipper Fisher Yes
Alex Somlyay Fairfax Yes
Wilson Tuckey O'Connor Yes
Malcolm Turnbull Wentworth Yes
Danna Vale Hughes Yes
Ross Vasta Bonner Yes
Barry Wakelin Grey Yes
Fran Bailey McEwen No
Bruce Baird Cook No
Bruce Billson Dunkley No
Julie Bishop Curtin No
Russell Broadbent McMillan No
Mal Brough Longman No
Peter Costello Higgins No
Warren Entsch Leichhardt No
Teresa Gambaro Petrie No
Joanna Gash Gilmore No
Petro Georgiou Kooyong No
Barry Haase Kalgoorlie No
Stuart Henry Hasluck No
Dennis Jensen Tangney No
Michael Johnson Ryan No
Sussan Ley Farrer No
Peter Lindsay Herbert No
Ian Macfarlane Groom No
Margaret May McPherson No
Stewart McArthur Corangamite No
Judi Moylan Pearce No
Gary Nairn Eden-Monaro No
Brendan Nelson Bradfield No
Geoff Prosser Forrest No
Tony Smith Casey No
Andrew Southcott Boothby No
Sharman Stone Murray No
Cameron Thompson Blair No
Ken Ticehurst Dobell No
Mal Washer Moore No
Jason Wood La Trobe No
Kay Elson Forde Absent
National Party (91% turnout) 7 Yes 3 No
John Anderson Gwydir Yes
John Forrest Mallee Yes
De-Anne Kelly Dawson Yes
Peter McGauran Gippsland Yes
Paul Neville Hinkler Yes
Bruce Scott Maranoa Yes
Warren Truss Wide Bay Yes
John Cobb Parkes No
Luke Hartsuyker Cowper No
Kay Hull Riverina No
Mark Vaile Lyne Absent
David Hawker Wannon Speaker Absent
Totals (97% turnout) 56 Yes – 90 No