Summary

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The majority voted in favour of a motion that the bill be read for a third time.(Read more about the stages that a bill must pass through to become law here. ) This means that the bill has passed in the House of Representatives and that it will now be sent to the Senate.

Background to the bill

This bill was introduced along with the National Fuelwatch (Empowering Consumers) (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2008 to establish a National Fuelwatch Scheme, which would be created and administered by by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).(Read more about the Scheme on ABC News here. ) The National Fuelwatch Scheme would require petrol retailers "to notify the ACCC of their next day’s fuel prices by 2 pm each day and maintain this notified price for a 24-hour period from 6 am the next day".(Read more about the bill, including its explanatory memorandum, here. )

The National Fuelwatch Scheme was proposed in response to an ACCC inquiry into the price of unleaded petrol, which found that:

  • there is an imbalance in fuel pricing information between petrol retailers and consumers at the retail level; and
  • consumers' capacity to take advantage of the lowest prices is limited by intraday fuel price changes (sometimes as often as three or four times per day).(Read more about the ACCC's inquiry in the explanatory memorandum.)

Votes Passed by a small majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Australian Labor Party (88% turnout) 71 Yes 0 No
Dick Adams Lyons Yes
Anthony Albanese Grayndler Yes
Arch Bevis Brisbane Yes
James Bidgood Dawson Yes
Sharon Bird Cunningham Yes
Chris Bowen Prospect Yes
David Bradbury Lindsay Yes
Tony Burke Watson Yes
Mark Butler Port Adelaide Yes
Anthony Byrne Holt Yes
Jodie Campbell Bass Yes
Nick Champion Wakefield Yes
Darren Cheeseman Corangamite Yes
Jason Clare Blaxland Yes
Julie Collins Franklin Yes
Greg Combet Charlton Yes
Yvette D'Ath Petrie Yes
Michael Danby Melbourne Ports Yes
Bob Debus Macquarie Yes
Mark Dreyfus Isaacs Yes
Justine Elliot Richmond Yes
Annette Ellis Canberra Yes
Kate Ellis Adelaide Yes
Craig Emerson Rankin Yes
Laurie Ferguson Reid Yes
Martin Ferguson Batman Yes
Joel Fitzgibbon Hunter Yes
Peter Garrett Kingsford Smith Yes
Steve Georganas Hindmarsh Yes
Jennie George Throsby Yes
Steve Gibbons Bendigo Yes
Julia Gillard Lalor Yes
Gary Gray Brand Yes
Sharon Grierson Newcastle Yes
Alan Griffin Bruce Yes
Damian Hale Solomon Yes
Jill Hall Shortland Yes
Julia Irwin Fowler Yes
Sharryn Jackson Hasluck Yes
Kirsten Livermore Capricornia Yes
Jenny Macklin Jagajaga Yes
Richard Marles Corio Yes
Robert McClelland Barton Yes
Maxine McKew Bennelong Yes
Bob McMullan Fraser Yes
Daryl Melham Banks Yes
John Murphy Lowe Yes
Shayne Neumann Blair Yes
Brendan O'Connor Gorton Yes
Julie Owens Parramatta Yes
Melissa Parke Fremantle Yes
Graham Perrett Moreton Yes
Tanya Plibersek Sydney Yes
Roger Price Chifley Yes
Brett Raguse Forde Yes
Kerry Rea Bonner Yes
Bernie Ripoll Oxley Yes
Amanda Rishworth Kingston Yes
Nicola Roxon Gellibrand Yes
Kevin Rudd Griffith Yes
Janelle Saffin Page Yes
Bill Shorten Maribyrnong Yes
Sid Sidebottom Braddon Yes
Jon Sullivan Longman Yes
Mike Symon Deakin Yes
Lindsay Tanner Melbourne Yes
Craig Thomson Dobell Yes
Kelvin Thomson Wills Yes
Chris Trevor Flynn Yes
Maria Vamvakinou Calwell Yes
Tony Zappia Makin Yes
Simon Crean Hotham Absent
Chris Hayes Werriwa Absent
Mike Kelly Eden-Monaro Absent
Duncan Kerr Denison Absent
Catherine King Ballarat Absent
Belinda Neal Robertson Absent
Stephen Smith Perth Absent
Warren Snowdon Lingiari Absent
Wayne Swan Lilley Absent
Jim Turnour Leichhardt Absent
Anna Burke Chisholm Deputy Speaker Yes
Bob Katter Kennedy Independent Absent
Tony Windsor New England Independent Absent
Liberal Party (80% turnout) 0 Yes 44 No
Kevin Andrews Menzies No
Fran Bailey McEwen No
Bob Baldwin Paterson No
Steven Ciobo Moncrieff No
Alexander Downer Mayo No
Peter Dutton Dickson No
Pat Farmer Macarthur No
Joanna Gash Gilmore No
Petro Georgiou Kooyong No
Barry Haase Kalgoorlie No
Alex Hawke Mitchell No
David Hawker Wannon No
Greg Hunt Flinders No
Steve Irons Swan No
Dennis Jensen Tangney No
Michael Johnson Ryan No
Michael Keenan Stirling No
Andrew Laming Bowman No
Sussan Ley Farrer No
Ian Macfarlane Groom No
Nola Marino Forrest No
Louise Markus Greenway No
Margaret May McPherson No
Sophie Mirabella Indi No
Scott Morrison Cook No
Chris Pearce Aston No
Christopher Pyne Sturt No
Rowan Ramsey Grey No
Don Randall Canning No
Andrew Robb Goldstein No
Stuart Robert Fadden No
Philip Ruddock Berowra No
Alby Schultz Hume No
Patrick Secker Barker No
Luke Simpkins Cowan No
Peter Slipper Fisher No
Tony Smith Casey No
Alex Somlyay Fairfax No
Andrew Southcott Boothby No
Sharman Stone Murray No
Wilson Tuckey O'Connor No
Danna Vale Hughes No
Mal Washer Moore No
Jason Wood La Trobe No
Tony Abbott Warringah Absent
Bruce Billson Dunkley Absent
Bronwyn Bishop Mackellar Absent
Julie Bishop Curtin Absent
Russell Broadbent McMillan Absent
Peter Costello Higgins Absent
Joe Hockey North Sydney Absent
Peter Lindsay Herbert Absent
Judi Moylan Pearce Absent
Brendan Nelson Bradfield Absent
Malcolm Turnbull Wentworth Absent
National Party (89% turnout) 0 Yes 8 No
John Cobb Calare No
Mark Coulton Parkes No
John Forrest Mallee No
Luke Hartsuyker Cowper No
Kay Hull Riverina No
Bruce Scott Maranoa No
Warren Truss Wide Bay No
Mark Vaile Lyne No
Paul Neville Hinkler Absent
Harry Jenkins Scullin Speaker Absent
Totals (83% turnout) 72 Yes – 52 No