Summary

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The majority voted against a motion introduced by Liberal MP Tony Abbott, which means that it was unsuccessful.

The motion was to amend the original motion "That this bill be now read a second time" with the following: "That all words after 'That' be omitted with a view to substituting the following words: 'this bill, and the related bills, not be proceeded with until after the Parliament has met in the 44th Parliament.'" In other words, Mr Abbott wanted to delay consideration of these bills until after the next election.

Background to the bills

The Fairer Private Health Insurance Incentives Bill 2012 was introduced along with the Fairer Private Health Insurance Incentives (Medicare Levy Surcharge) Bill 2012 and the Fairer Private Health Insurance Incentives (Medicare Levy Surcharge—Fringe Benefits) Bill 2012. These bills were introduced as a package to reduce the private health insurance rebate and increase the Medicare levy surcharge for certain taxpayers. To this end, the bills:

  • create three private health insurance tiers with different levels of private health insurance rebate to reduce the amount of rebate eligible taxpayers with complying private health insurance are entitled to when their income for surcharge purposes is above the relevant Medicare levy surcharge threshold;(Read more about the Fairer Private Health Insurance Incentives Bill 2012 in its bills digest.

)

  • increase the rate of Medicare levy surcharge for certain taxpayers who do not have complying health insurance and whose income for surcharge purposes is above the relevant Medicare levy surcharge threshold;(Read more about the Fairer Private Health Insurance Incentives (Medicare Levy Surcharge) Bill 2012 in its bills digest.

)

  • increase the rate of Medicare levy surcharge for taxpayers who do not have complying health insurance and whose income (including reportable fringe benefits) for surcharge purposes is above the relevant Medicare levy surcharge threshold.(Read more about the Fairer Private Health Insurance Incentives (Medicare Levy Surcharge—Fringe Benefits) Bill 2012 in its bills digest.)

Votes Not passed by a small majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Adam Bandt Melbourne Australian Greens No
Australian Labor Party (94% turnout) 0 Yes 67 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
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
Harry Jenkins Scullin No
Stephen Jones Throsby No
Mike Kelly Eden-Monaro 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
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
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
Wayne Swan Lilley No
Mike Symon Deakin No
Craig Thomson Dobell No
Kelvin Thomson Wills No
Maria Vamvakinou Calwell No
Tony Zappia Makin No
Catherine King Ballarat Absent
Daryl Melham Banks Absent
Michelle Rowland Greenway Absent
Warren Snowdon Lingiari Absent
Natasha Griggs Solomon Country Liberal Party Yes
Anna Burke Chisholm Deputy Speaker No
Bob Katter Kennedy Independent Yes
Robert Oakeshott Lyne Independent No
Andrew Wilkie Denison Independent No
Tony Windsor New England Independent No
Bob Katter Kennedy Katter's Australian Party Absent
Liberal Party (93% turnout) 55 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
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
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
Wyatt Roy Longman Yes
Philip Ruddock Berowra Yes
Alby Schultz Hume Yes
Patrick Secker Barker Yes
Luke Simpkins Cowan 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
Ken Wyatt Hasluck Yes
Steve Irons Swan Absent
Judi Moylan Pearce Absent
Stuart Robert Fadden Absent
Mal Washer Moore Absent
National Party (100% turnout) 12 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
Bruce Scott Maranoa Yes
Warren Truss Wide Bay Yes
Peter Slipper Fisher Speaker Absent
Totals (94% turnout) 69 Yes – 72 No