Summary

Edit

The majority voted in favour of a motion to read the bill for a second time.(Read more about the stages that a bill must pass through to become law here. ) This means that the majority agree with the main idea of the bill. Following this vote, it was agreed without further division to read the two related bills a second time as well.(Read more about why a division does not always take place in our FAQ Section. )

Background to the bill

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 Passed by a small majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Adam Bandt Melbourne Australian Greens Yes
Australian Labor Party (94% turnout) 67 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
Harry Jenkins Scullin Yes
Stephen Jones Throsby Yes
Mike Kelly Eden-Monaro 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
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
Tanya Plibersek Sydney 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
Stephen Smith Perth Yes
Laura Smyth La Trobe 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
Catherine King Ballarat Absent
Daryl Melham Banks Absent
Michelle Rowland Greenway Absent
Warren Snowdon Lingiari Absent
Natasha Griggs Solomon Country Liberal Party No
Anna Burke Chisholm Deputy Speaker Yes
Robert Oakeshott Lyne Independent Yes
Andrew Wilkie Denison Independent Yes
Bob Katter Kennedy Independent No
Tony Windsor New England Independent No
Bob Katter Kennedy Katter's Australian Party Absent
Liberal Party (93% turnout) 0 Yes 55 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
Josh Frydenberg Kooyong 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
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
Kelly O'Dwyer Higgins No
Jane Prentice Ryan No
Christopher Pyne Sturt No
Rowan Ramsey Grey No
Don Randall Canning No
Andrew Robb Goldstein No
Wyatt Roy Longman No
Philip Ruddock Berowra No
Alby Schultz Hume No
Patrick Secker Barker No
Luke Simpkins Cowan 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
Ken Wyatt Hasluck No
Steve Irons Swan Absent
Judi Moylan Pearce Absent
Stuart Robert Fadden Absent
Mal Washer Moore 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
Peter Slipper Fisher Speaker Absent
Totals (94% turnout) 71 Yes – 70 No