edited
26th Nov 2015
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Standing) Bill 2015 - Third Reading - Pass the bill
Passed by a small majority
No rebellions 85% attendance
10th Sep 2015, 1:20 PM – Representatives Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Standing) Bill 2015 - Second Reading - Agree with the bill's main idea
Summary
EditThe 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 |
Turnout is the percentage of members eligible to vote that did vote.