Summary

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The majority voted against amendments introduced by Liberal MP Malcolm Turnbull, which means that they were unsuccessful.

Mr Turnbull explained that the amendments related to the disallowance of instruments and competition. He said that their purpose was to: (1) replace ‘in writing’ with the words ‘in a legislative instrument’ so that any ministerial direction to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission regarding the criteria for acceptance of a functional separation would be a disallowable instrument and therefore subject to the scrutiny of parliament; and (2) ensure that the normal operation of the Competition and Consumer Act, formerly the Trade Practices Act, would apply to the deal involving Telstra and NBN Co.(Read Mr Turnbull's full explanation and the associated debate here, after 5:39 pm. )

Background to the bill

This bill was introduced following the lapse of the Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Competition and Consumer Safeguards) Bill 2009 and relates to the regulation of consumer protection, competition and licensing in telecommunications markets. While substantially the same as the earlier bill, it includes some additional provisions.

According to the bills digest, significant changes made by this bill include:

  • improving the conditions for competition in telecommunications markets by requiring Telstra to be structurally or functionally separated
  • making the telecommunications access regime less susceptible to deliberate delay and obstruction
  • removing a technical impediment to the operation of the anti-competitive conduct regime applying to telecommunications markets
  • clarifying the universal service obligation (USO) and customer service guarantee (CSG) to make it more enforceable
  • extending the obligation to provide priority assistance to those with life threatening conditions to service providers other than Telstra, and
  • enabling breaches of civil penalty provisions - including some concerning the USO and the CSG - to be dealt with by issuing infringement notices.(More information about the bill is available in its bills digest.)

With these measures, the bill seeks to address the issues that result from the monopoly caused by Telstra's vertically and horizontally integrated telecommunications network.

Votes Not passed by a small majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Adam Bandt Melbourne Australian Greens No
Australian Labor Party (97% turnout) 0 Yes 68 No
Dick Adams Lyons No
Anthony Albanese Grayndler No
Sharon Bird Cunningham No
Chris Bowen McMahon No
David Bradbury Lindsay No
Gai Brodtmann Canberra No
Tony Burke Watson No
Anthony Byrne Holt No
Nick Champion Wakefield No
Darren Cheeseman Corangamite No
Jason Clare Blaxland No
Julie Collins Franklin No
Greg Combet Charlton No
Simon Crean Hotham No
Yvette D'Ath Petrie No
Michael Danby Melbourne Ports No
Mark Dreyfus Isaacs No
Justine Elliot Richmond No
Kate Ellis Adelaide No
Craig Emerson Rankin No
Laurie Ferguson Werriwa No
Martin Ferguson Batman No
Joel Fitzgibbon Hunter No
Peter Garrett Kingsford Smith No
Steve Georganas Hindmarsh No
Steve Gibbons Bendigo No
Julia Gillard Lalor No
Gary Gray Brand No
Sharon Grierson Newcastle No
Alan Griffin Bruce No
Jill Hall Shortland No
Chris Hayes Fowler No
Ed Husic Chifley No
Stephen Jones Throsby No
Mike Kelly Eden-Monaro No
Catherine King Ballarat No
Andrew Leigh Fraser No
Kirsten Livermore Capricornia No
Geoff Lyons Bass No
Jenny Macklin Jagajaga No
Richard Marles Corio No
Robert McClelland Barton No
Daryl Melham Banks No
Rob Mitchell McEwen No
John Murphy Reid No
Shayne Neumann Blair No
Brendan O'Connor Gorton No
Deborah O'Neill Robertson No
Julie Owens Parramatta No
Melissa Parke Fremantle No
Graham Perrett Moreton No
Bernie Ripoll Oxley No
Amanda Rishworth Kingston No
Michelle Rowland Greenway No
Nicola Roxon Gellibrand No
Kevin Rudd Griffith No
Janelle Saffin Page No
Bill Shorten Maribyrnong No
Sid Sidebottom Braddon No
Stephen Smith Perth No
Laura Smyth La Trobe No
Warren Snowdon Lingiari No
Wayne Swan Lilley No
Mike Symon Deakin No
Craig Thomson Dobell No
Kelvin Thomson Wills No
Maria Vamvakinou Calwell No
Tony Zappia Makin No
Mark Butler Port Adelaide Absent
Tanya Plibersek Sydney Absent
Natasha Griggs Solomon Country Liberal Party Yes
Anna Burke Chisholm Deputy Speaker No
Bob Katter Kennedy Independent No
Robert Oakeshott Lyne Independent No
Andrew Wilkie Denison Independent No
Tony Windsor New England Independent No
Liberal Party (100% turnout) 60 Yes 0 No
Tony Abbott Warringah Yes
John Alexander Bennelong Yes
Karen Andrews McPherson Yes
Kevin Andrews Menzies Yes
Bob Baldwin Paterson Yes
Bruce Billson Dunkley Yes
Bronwyn Bishop Mackellar Yes
Julie Bishop Curtin Yes
Jamie Briggs Mayo Yes
Russell Broadbent McMillan Yes
Scott Buchholz Wright Yes
Steven Ciobo Moncrieff Yes
Peter Dutton Dickson Yes
Warren Entsch Leichhardt Yes
Paul Fletcher Bradfield Yes
Josh Frydenberg Kooyong Yes
Teresa Gambaro Brisbane Yes
Joanna Gash Gilmore Yes
Barry Haase Durack Yes
Alex Hawke Mitchell Yes
Joe Hockey North Sydney Yes
Greg Hunt Flinders Yes
Steve Irons Swan Yes
Dennis Jensen Tangney Yes
Ewen Jones Herbert Yes
Michael Keenan Stirling Yes
Craig Kelly Hughes Yes
Andrew Laming Bowman Yes
Sussan Ley Farrer Yes
Ian Macfarlane Groom Yes
Nola Marino Forrest Yes
Louise Markus Macquarie Yes
Russell Matheson Macarthur Yes
Sophie Mirabella Indi Yes
Scott Morrison Cook Yes
Judi Moylan Pearce Yes
Kelly O'Dwyer Higgins Yes
Jane Prentice Ryan Yes
Christopher Pyne Sturt Yes
Rowan Ramsey Grey Yes
Don Randall Canning Yes
Andrew Robb Goldstein Yes
Stuart Robert Fadden Yes
Wyatt Roy Longman Yes
Philip Ruddock Berowra Yes
Alby Schultz Hume Yes
Patrick Secker Barker Yes
Luke Simpkins Cowan Yes
Peter Slipper Fisher Yes
Tony Smith Casey Yes
Alex Somlyay Fairfax Yes
Andrew Southcott Boothby Yes
Sharman Stone Murray Yes
Dan Tehan Wannon Yes
Alan Tudge Aston Yes
Malcolm Turnbull Wentworth Yes
Bert Van Manen Forde Yes
Ross Vasta Bonner Yes
Mal Washer Moore Yes
Ken Wyatt Hasluck Yes
National Party (92% turnout) 11 Yes 0 No
Darren Chester Gippsland Yes
George Christensen Dawson Yes
John Cobb Calare Yes
Mark Coulton Parkes Yes
Tony Crook O'Connor Yes
John Forrest Mallee Yes
Luke Hartsuyker Cowper Yes
Michael McCormack Riverina Yes
Paul Neville Hinkler Yes
Ken O'Dowd Flynn Yes
Warren Truss Wide Bay Yes
Bruce Scott Maranoa Absent
Harry Jenkins Scullin Speaker Absent
Totals (97% turnout) 72 Yes – 74 No