Summary

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This division is a vote about a motion rather than a bill. According to the House of Representatives Practice [923kb], a motion is “any proposal made for the purpose of eliciting a decision of the House”.

The members were voting on whether:

the motion ( Mr Bandt’s ), as amended, be agreed to.

The motion had been introduced by Greens Party MP Adam Bandt and amended by an amendment introduced by Labor Party MP Stephen Jones.

Someone who voted Aye supported the motion. Since the majority voted Aye, the motion was successful. This means that the House agreed with the motion and so it became an order of the House. An order can be described as a command of the House, though it has no legal effect outside of the House (see the House of Representatives Practice [923kb]).

Debate in Parliament

The original wording of the substantive motion introduced by Bandt MP was:

That this House:

(1) notes that there is:

(a) a growing list of countries that allow same-sex couples to marry including the Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Spain, Canada and South Africa; and

(b) widespread support for equal marriage in the Australian community; and

(2) calls on all parliamentarians to gauge their constituents’ views on the issue of marriage equality.

Before introducing the motion, Bandt MP sought leave to amend it but leave was not granted. The wording Bandt MP wanted to use was the same as the wording proposed by Labor Party MP Stephen Jones in his amendment, which was:

That all the words after “That” be omitted with a view to substituting the following words: “this House calls on all parliamentarians, consistent with their duties as representatives, to gauge their constituents’ views on ways to achieve equal treatment for same sex couples including marriage”.

This is why Bandt MP joined Jones MP and the rest of the Labor Party in voting ‘Aye’ to the amendment (see the division here).

Background to the Motion

The substantive motion introduced by Bandt MP was part of the Greens Party’s campaign to change the law to recognise same-sex marriage. At the time it was introduced, the Senate was considering the Marriage Equality Amendment Bill 2010, which had been introduced by Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young.

Votes Passed by a small majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Adam Bandt Melbourne Australian Greens Yes
Australian Labor Party (97% turnout) 68 Yes 0 No
Dick Adams Lyons Yes
Anthony Albanese Grayndler Yes
Sharon Bird Cunningham Yes
Chris Bowen McMahon Yes
David Bradbury Lindsay Yes
Gai Brodtmann Canberra Yes
Tony Burke Watson Yes
Mark Butler Port Adelaide Yes
Anthony Byrne Holt Yes
Nick Champion Wakefield Yes
Darren Cheeseman Corangamite Yes
Jason Clare Blaxland Yes
Julie Collins Franklin Yes
Greg Combet Charlton Yes
Simon Crean Hotham Yes
Yvette D'Ath Petrie Yes
Michael Danby Melbourne Ports Yes
Mark Dreyfus Isaacs Yes
Justine Elliot Richmond Yes
Kate Ellis Adelaide Yes
Craig Emerson Rankin Yes
Laurie Ferguson Werriwa Yes
Martin Ferguson Batman Yes
Joel Fitzgibbon Hunter Yes
Peter Garrett Kingsford Smith Yes
Steve Georganas Hindmarsh Yes
Steve Gibbons Bendigo Yes
Julia Gillard Lalor Yes
Gary Gray Brand Yes
Sharon Grierson Newcastle Yes
Alan Griffin Bruce Yes
Jill Hall Shortland Yes
Chris Hayes Fowler Yes
Ed Husic Chifley Yes
Stephen Jones Throsby Yes
Mike Kelly Eden-Monaro Yes
Catherine King Ballarat Yes
Andrew Leigh Fraser Yes
Kirsten Livermore Capricornia Yes
Geoff Lyons Bass Yes
Jenny Macklin Jagajaga Yes
Richard Marles Corio Yes
Robert McClelland Barton Yes
Daryl Melham Banks Yes
Rob Mitchell McEwen Yes
John Murphy Reid Yes
Shayne Neumann Blair Yes
Brendan O'Connor Gorton Yes
Deborah O'Neill Robertson Yes
Julie Owens Parramatta Yes
Melissa Parke Fremantle Yes
Graham Perrett Moreton Yes
Bernie Ripoll Oxley Yes
Amanda Rishworth Kingston Yes
Michelle Rowland Greenway Yes
Nicola Roxon Gellibrand Yes
Kevin Rudd Griffith Yes
Janelle Saffin Page Yes
Bill Shorten Maribyrnong Yes
Sid Sidebottom Braddon Yes
Laura Smyth La Trobe Yes
Warren Snowdon Lingiari Yes
Wayne Swan Lilley Yes
Mike Symon Deakin Yes
Craig Thomson Dobell Yes
Kelvin Thomson Wills Yes
Maria Vamvakinou Calwell Yes
Tony Zappia Makin Yes
Tanya Plibersek Sydney Absent
Stephen Smith Perth Absent
Natasha Griggs Solomon Country Liberal Party No
Anna Burke Chisholm Deputy Speaker Yes
Robert Oakeshott Lyne Independent Yes
Andrew Wilkie Denison Independent Yes
Tony Windsor New England Independent Yes
Bob Katter Kennedy Independent No
Liberal Party (97% turnout) 0 Yes 58 No
Tony Abbott Warringah No
John Alexander Bennelong No
Karen Andrews McPherson No
Kevin Andrews Menzies No
Bob Baldwin Paterson No
Bruce Billson Dunkley No
Bronwyn Bishop Mackellar No
Julie Bishop Curtin No
Jamie Briggs Mayo No
Russell Broadbent McMillan No
Scott Buchholz Wright No
Steven Ciobo Moncrieff No
Peter Dutton Dickson No
Warren Entsch Leichhardt No
Paul Fletcher Bradfield No
Teresa Gambaro Brisbane No
Joanna Gash Gilmore No
Barry Haase Durack No
Alex Hawke Mitchell No
Joe Hockey North Sydney No
Greg Hunt Flinders No
Steve Irons Swan No
Dennis Jensen Tangney No
Ewen Jones Herbert No
Michael Keenan Stirling No
Craig Kelly Hughes No
Andrew Laming Bowman No
Sussan Ley Farrer No
Ian Macfarlane Groom No
Nola Marino Forrest No
Louise Markus Macquarie No
Russell Matheson Macarthur No
Sophie Mirabella Indi No
Scott Morrison Cook No
Judi Moylan Pearce No
Jane Prentice Ryan No
Christopher Pyne Sturt No
Rowan Ramsey Grey No
Don Randall Canning No
Andrew Robb Goldstein No
Stuart Robert Fadden No
Wyatt Roy Longman 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
Dan Tehan Wannon No
Alan Tudge Aston No
Malcolm Turnbull Wentworth No
Bert Van Manen Forde No
Ross Vasta Bonner No
Mal Washer Moore No
Ken Wyatt Hasluck No
Josh Frydenberg Kooyong Absent
Kelly O'Dwyer Higgins Absent
National Party (100% turnout) 0 Yes 12 No
Darren Chester Gippsland No
George Christensen Dawson No
John Cobb Calare No
Mark Coulton Parkes No
Tony Crook O'Connor No
John Forrest Mallee No
Luke Hartsuyker Cowper No
Michael McCormack Riverina No
Paul Neville Hinkler No
Ken O'Dowd Flynn No
Bruce Scott Maranoa No
Warren Truss Wide Bay No
Harry Jenkins Scullin Speaker Absent
Totals (97% turnout) 73 Yes – 72 No