Summary

Edit

The majority voted in favour of a motion to read the bill a second time.

This means that the majority agree with the main idea of the bill and that it can now be discussed in greater detail.

The main idea of the bill is to ensure that asylum seekers who unlawfully arrive anywhere in Australia are subject to the same regional processing arrangements as asylum seekers who arrive at an excised offshore place such as Christmas Island.

Background of the Bill

This bill was introduced in response to a report by the Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers, particularly Recommendation 14 which states that: "the Migration Act 1958 be amended so that arrival anywhere on Australia by irregular maritime means will not provide individuals with a different lawful status than those who arrive in an excise offshore place".(Read the full report here. )

By implementing this recommendation, the bill extends the excision regime that was introduced in 2001 following the Tampa affair. That regime provides that asylum seekers who arrive in Australia at excised offshore places are unable to apply for protection visas (in effect, refugee status under Australian law) unless the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship decides it is in the public interest that they do so. The effect of this bill will be to extend the excision provisions to the whole country.(More information on the Migration Amendment (Unauthorised Maritime Arrivals and Other Measures) Bill 2012 is available on the bills digest (680 KB). Also see an ABC news report explaining the effect of this bill here.)

This means that all asylum seekers arriving by boat in either mainland Australia or an offshore Australian territory that has been excised are unable to apply for protection visas and will be sent to regional processing countries (currently Papua New Guinea and Nauru) for the processing of their refugee claims. The rationale behind this legislation is the need to discourage asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat because of the dangers involved.

References

Votes Passed by a large majority

There were 2 rebellions in this division.

Party Votes
Adam Bandt Melbourne Australian Greens No
Australian Labor Party (89% turnout) 62 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
Martin Ferguson Batman Yes
Peter Garrett Kingsford Smith Yes
Steve Georganas Hindmarsh Yes
Steve Gibbons Bendigo 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
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
Shayne Neumann Blair Yes
Brendan O'Connor Gorton Yes
Deborah O'Neill Robertson Yes
Julie Owens Parramatta Yes
Graham Perrett Moreton Yes
Tanya Plibersek Sydney 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
Stephen Smith Perth Yes
Wayne Swan Lilley Yes
Mike Symon Deakin Yes
Kelvin Thomson Wills Yes
Tony Zappia Makin Yes
Laurie Ferguson Werriwa Absent
Joel Fitzgibbon Hunter Absent
Julia Gillard Lalor Absent
John Murphy Reid Absent
Melissa Parke Fremantle Absent
Laura Smyth La Trobe Absent
Warren Snowdon Lingiari Absent
Maria Vamvakinou Calwell Absent
Natasha Griggs Solomon Country Liberal Party Absent
Bruce Scott Maranoa Deputy Speaker Yes
Bob Katter Kennedy Independent Yes
Robert Oakeshott Lyne Independent Yes
Craig Thomson Dobell Independent No
Andrew Wilkie Denison Independent No
Peter Slipper Fisher Independent Absent
Tony Windsor New England Independent Absent
Bob Katter Kennedy Katter's Australian Party Absent
Liberal Party (51% turnout) 28 Yes 2 No
John Alexander Bennelong Yes
Karen Andrews McPherson Yes
Bruce Billson Dunkley Yes
Bronwyn Bishop Mackellar 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
Dennis Jensen Tangney Yes
Nola Marino Forrest Yes
Sophie Mirabella Indi Yes
Scott Morrison Cook Yes
Rowan Ramsey Grey Yes
Wyatt Roy Longman Yes
Philip Ruddock Berowra Yes
Patrick Secker Barker Yes
Luke Simpkins Cowan Yes
Alex Somlyay Fairfax Yes
Andrew Southcott Boothby Yes
Sharman Stone Murray Yes
Dan Tehan Wannon Yes
Malcolm Turnbull Wentworth Yes
Ross Vasta Bonner Yes
Mal Washer Moore Yes
Ken Wyatt Hasluck Yes
Russell Broadbent McMillan No
Judi Moylan Pearce No
Tony Abbott Warringah Absent
Kevin Andrews Menzies Absent
Bob Baldwin Paterson Absent
Julie Bishop Curtin Absent
Jamie Briggs Mayo Absent
Joanna Gash Gilmore Absent
Barry Haase Durack Absent
Alex Hawke Mitchell Absent
Joe Hockey North Sydney Absent
Greg Hunt Flinders Absent
Steve Irons Swan Absent
Ewen Jones Herbert Absent
Michael Keenan Stirling Absent
Craig Kelly Hughes Absent
Andrew Laming Bowman Absent
Sussan Ley Farrer Absent
Ian Macfarlane Groom Absent
Louise Markus Macquarie Absent
Russell Matheson Macarthur Absent
Kelly O'Dwyer Higgins Absent
Jane Prentice Ryan Absent
Christopher Pyne Sturt Absent
Don Randall Canning Absent
Andrew Robb Goldstein Absent
Stuart Robert Fadden Absent
Alby Schultz Hume Absent
Tony Smith Casey Absent
Alan Tudge Aston Absent
Bert Van Manen Forde Absent
National Party (27% turnout) 3 Yes 0 No
Mark Coulton Parkes Yes
Michael McCormack Riverina Yes
Paul Neville Hinkler Yes
Darren Chester Gippsland Absent
George Christensen Dawson Absent
John Cobb Calare Absent
Tony Crook O'Connor Absent
John Forrest Mallee Absent
Luke Hartsuyker Cowper Absent
Ken O'Dowd Flynn Absent
Warren Truss Wide Bay Absent
Anna Burke Chisholm Speaker Absent
Totals (67% turnout) 96 Yes – 5 No