Summary

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The majority voted in favour of the main idea of the bill. In parliamentary jargon, they agreed to give the bill a second reading.

What is the main idea of the bill?

The purpose of this bill is to make it so that only "aggrieved persons" can seek judicial review of decisions made under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).

According to the bills digest, "[t]he Bill is a response to a successful challenge by the Mackay Conservation Group against the Minister for the Environment’s decision to grant approval under the EPBC Act for the Carmichael coal mine in Queensland (proposed by Adani Mining Pty Ltd)".

What is judicial review?

When a person seeks judicial review, they are asking the courts to decide whether the government has made a particular decision properly according to the law. The courts do not decide whether the decision was good or not; they only decide whether it was lawful.

In order to seek judicial review, you must have standing - meaning, the right to seek judicial review.

Currently, under the EPBC Act, Australian people and organisations involved with environmental protection, conservation or research can have standing to seek judicial review. That was how the Mackay Conservation Group were able to bring their action against the Carmichael coal mine.

Who is an "aggrieved person"?

An "aggrieved person" is a person whose interests would be ‘adversely affected’ by the decision made under the EPBC Act. Generally, those interests need to be directly affected and the person needs to be able to show a 'special interest' beyond just being a member of the public.

What does this mean?

The bills digest says that the bill "raises questions about accountable and responsible government" and it is also "unclear whether the Bill will achieve its intended purpose", which is to prevent disruptions and delays to projects approved under the EPBC Act.

Votes Passed by a small majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Adam Bandt Melbourne Australian Greens No
Australian Labor Party (84% turnout) 0 Yes 46 No
Anthony Albanese Grayndler No
Sharon Bird Cunningham No
Tony Burke Watson No
Terri Butler Griffith No
Jim Chalmers Rankin No
Nick Champion Wakefield No
Lisa Chesters Bendigo No
Jason Clare Blaxland No
Sharon Claydon Newcastle No
Julie Collins Franklin No
Pat Conroy Charlton No
Michael Danby Melbourne Ports No
Mark Dreyfus Isaacs No
Justine Elliot Richmond No
Kate Ellis Adelaide No
David Feeney Batman No
Laurie Ferguson Werriwa No
Joel Fitzgibbon Hunter No
Andrew Giles Scullin No
Gary Gray Brand No
Alan Griffin Bruce No
Jill Hall Shortland No
Chris Hayes Fowler No
Stephen Jones Throsby No
Catherine King Ballarat No
Andrew Leigh Fraser No
Jenny Macklin Jagajaga No
Rob Mitchell McEwen No
Shayne Neumann Blair No
Brendan O'Connor Gorton No
Clare O'Neil Hotham 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
Joanne Ryan Lalor No
Warren Snowdon Lingiari No
Wayne Swan Lilley No
Matt Thistlethwaite Kingsford Smith No
Kelvin Thomson Wills No
Maria Vamvakinou Calwell No
Tim Watts Gellibrand No
Tony Zappia Makin No
Chris Bowen McMahon Absent
Gai Brodtmann Canberra Absent
Anna Burke Chisholm Absent
Mark Butler Port Adelaide Absent
Anthony Byrne Holt Absent
Ed Husic Chifley Absent
Alannah Mactiernan Perth Absent
Richard Marles Corio Absent
Bill Shorten Maribyrnong Absent
Natasha Griggs Solomon Country Liberal Party Yes
Bruce Scott Maranoa Deputy Speaker Yes
Cathy McGowan Indi Independent No
Andrew Wilkie Denison Independent No
Bob Katter Kennedy Katter's Australian Party Absent
Liberal Party (89% turnout) 64 Yes 0 No
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
Mal Brough Fisher Yes
Scott Buchholz Wright Yes
David Coleman Banks Yes
Warren Entsch Leichhardt Yes
Paul Fletcher Bradfield Yes
Josh Frydenberg Kooyong Yes
Teresa Gambaro Brisbane Yes
Ian Goodenough Moore Yes
Alex Hawke Mitchell Yes
Sarah Henderson Corangamite Yes
Peter Hendy Eden-Monaro Yes
Joe Hockey North Sydney Yes
Luke Howarth Petrie Yes
Greg Hunt Flinders Yes
Eric Hutchinson Lyons Yes
Steve Irons Swan Yes
Dennis Jensen Tangney Yes
Ewen Jones Herbert Yes
Craig Kelly Hughes Yes
Andrew Laming Bowman Yes
Craig Laundy Reid Yes
Sussan Ley Farrer Yes
Ian Macfarlane Groom Yes
Nola Marino Forrest Yes
Louise Markus Macquarie Yes
Russell Matheson Macarthur Yes
Karen McNamara Dobell Yes
Scott Morrison Cook Yes
Andrew Nikolic Bass Yes
Kelly O'Dwyer Higgins Yes
Tony Pasin Barker Yes
Jane Prentice Ryan Yes
Melissa Price Durack Yes
Christopher Pyne Sturt Yes
Rowan Ramsey Grey Yes
Stuart Robert Fadden Yes
Wyatt Roy Longman Yes
Philip Ruddock Berowra Yes
Fiona Scott Lindsay Yes
Luke Simpkins Cowan Yes
Andrew Southcott Boothby Yes
Sharman Stone Murray Yes
Ann Sudmalis Gilmore Yes
Michael Sukkar Deakin Yes
Angus Taylor Hume Yes
Dan Tehan Wannon Yes
Alan Tudge Aston Yes
Malcolm Turnbull Wentworth Yes
Bert Van Manen Forde Yes
Nickolas Varvaris Barton Yes
Brett Whiteley Braddon Yes
Lucy Wicks Robertson Yes
Matt Williams Hindmarsh Yes
Rick Wilson O'Connor Yes
Ken Wyatt Hasluck Yes
Tony Abbott Warringah Absent
Steven Ciobo Moncrieff Absent
Peter Dutton Dickson Absent
Michael Keenan Stirling Absent
Christian Porter Pearce Absent
Andrew Robb Goldstein Absent
Ross Vasta Bonner Absent
Jason Wood La Trobe Absent
National Party (79% turnout) 11 Yes 0 No
Andrew Broad Mallee Yes
George Christensen Dawson Yes
John Cobb Calare Yes
Mark Coulton Parkes Yes
Luke Hartsuyker Cowper Yes
Kevin Hogan Page Yes
Barnaby Joyce New England Yes
Michelle Landry Capricornia Yes
Michael McCormack Riverina Yes
Ken O'Dowd Flynn Yes
Keith Pitt Hinkler Yes
Darren Chester Gippsland Absent
David Gillespie Lyne Absent
Warren Truss Wide Bay Absent
Clive Palmer Fairfax Palmer United Party Absent
Tony Smith Casey Speaker Absent
Totals (85% turnout) 77 Yes – 49 No