Summary

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The majority voted against a motion to amend the Governance of Australian Government Superannuation Schemes Bill 2011. The amendment was introduced by Liberal Party MP Stuart Robert.

Someone who voted Aye supported the amendment. The majority voted No so the amendment was unsuccessful.

The amendment would have removed the power of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) to nominate board members for the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation, which is created by the Bill. Under the Bill, the ACTU appoints all three of the directors who represent civilian employees.

Debate in Parliament

Liberal MP Robert argued that appointments made to Commonwealth bodies “should be made by elected officials who are accountable at the ballot box”.(See MP Robert's full contribution here. ) He insisted that “the coalition do not have a problem with trade unions” but that it “patently objects to a body such as the ACTU having the power to appoint ... three members to the board that only it can remove”.

Labor MP Warren Snowdon said that the Government would not support the amendment.(See MP Snowdon's full contribution here. ) He said that there was precedent for this arrangement already in existence. Further, he argued that appointing employee representatives through the ACTU was the most reasonable and cost effective process.

Background to the Bill

The Bill is part of a package of three bills.(More information about this bill and the context surrounding it can be found here. The text of the proposed amendment can be found here.) It creates the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation by merging the Australian Reward Investment Alliance, the Military Superannuation and Benefits Board and the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Authority. The purpose of these changes is to modernise Australian Government superannuation and make it more consistent with the broader superannuation industry.

References

Votes Not passed by a small majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Adam Bandt Melbourne Australian Greens No
Australian Labor Party (99% turnout) 0 Yes 69 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
Mark Butler Port Adelaide 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
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
Tanya Plibersek Sydney 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
Julia Gillard Lalor Absent
Natasha Griggs Solomon Country Liberal Party Yes
Anna Burke Chisholm Deputy Speaker No
Robert Oakeshott Lyne Independent No
Andrew Wilkie Denison Independent No
Tony Windsor New England Independent No
Bob Katter Kennedy Independent Absent
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
Ken O'Dowd Flynn Yes
Bruce Scott Maranoa Yes
Warren Truss Wide Bay Yes
Paul Neville Hinkler Absent
Harry Jenkins Scullin Speaker Absent
Totals (97% turnout) 72 Yes – 74 No