edited
29th Dec 2017
Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill 2017 - in Committee - Religious and conscientious protection
Not passed by a small majority
No rebellions 92% attendance
7th Dec 2017, 5:42 PM – Representatives Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill 2017 - Consideration in Detail - Religion & right to refuse
Summary
EditThe majority voted against amendments introduced by Liberal MP Sarah Henderson, which means they failed.
What were the amendments?
Henderson MP explained that her first amendment:
provides that nothing in this act limits or derogates from the right of any person, in a lawful manner, to manifest his or her religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.
She then explained that her second amendment:
enables marriage celebrants other than ministers of religion to refuse to solemnise marriages on the basis of the celebrants' religious or conscientious beliefs.
Why did some Coalition MPs vote Yes and others No?
The Coalition was split on this issue, with some voting Yes and others voting No. This split within the party is unusual but, given the nature of the subject matter of the vote, the Coalition decided to run this as a free vote, meaning that its members could vote however they chose rather than having to vote along party lines.
What does this bill do?
This bill will allow same-sex couples to marry under Australian law. However, it will also:
enable ministers of religion, religious marriage celebrants, chaplains and bodies established for religious purposes to refuse to solemnise or provide facilities, goods and services for marriages on religious grounds; and make amendments ... to provide that a refusal by a minister of religion, religious marriage celebrant or chaplain to solemnise marriage in prescribed circumstances does not constitute unlawful discrimination.
Read more in the 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 (97% turnout) | 0 Yes – 67 No | |
| Anthony Albanese Grayndler | No | |
| Anne Aly Cowan | No | |
| Sharon Bird Cunningham | No | |
| Chris Bowen McMahon | No | |
| Gai Brodtmann Canberra | No | |
| Tony Burke Watson | No | |
| Linda Burney Barton | No | |
| Mark Butler Port Adelaide | No | |
| Terri Butler Griffith | No | |
| Anthony Byrne Holt | 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 Shortland | No | |
| Michael Danby Melbourne Ports | No | |
| Milton Dick Oxley | No | |
| Mark Dreyfus Isaacs | No | |
| Justine Elliot Richmond | No | |
| Kate Ellis Adelaide | No | |
| David Feeney Batman | No | |
| Joel Fitzgibbon Hunter | No | |
| Mike Freelander Macarthur | No | |
| Steve Georganas Hindmarsh | No | |
| Andrew Giles Scullin | No | |
| Luke Gosling Solomon | No | |
| Tim Hammond Perth | No | |
| Ross Hart Bass | No | |
| Chris Hayes Fowler | No | |
| Julian Hill Bruce | No | |
| Emma Husar Lindsay | No | |
| Ed Husic Chifley | No | |
| Stephen Jones Whitlam | No | |
| Justine Keay Braddon | No | |
| Mike Kelly Eden-Monaro | No | |
| Matt Keogh Burt | No | |
| Peter Khalil Wills | No | |
| Catherine King Ballarat | No | |
| Madeleine King Brand | No | |
| Susan Lamb Longman | No | |
| Andrew Leigh Fenner | No | |
| Jenny Macklin Jagajaga | No | |
| Richard Marles Corio | No | |
| Emma McBride Dobell | No | |
| Brian Mitchell Lyons | No | |
| Rob Mitchell McEwen | No | |
| Shayne Neumann Blair | No | |
| Clare O'Neil Hotham | No | |
| Cathy O'Toole Herbert | No | |
| Julie Owens Parramatta | No | |
| Graham Perrett Moreton | No | |
| Tanya Plibersek Sydney | No | |
| Amanda Rishworth Kingston | No | |
| Michelle Rowland Greenway | No | |
| Joanne Ryan Lalor | No | |
| Bill Shorten Maribyrnong | No | |
| Warren Snowdon Lingiari | No | |
| Anne Stanley Werriwa | No | |
| Meryl Swanson Paterson | No | |
| Susan Templeman Macquarie | No | |
| Matt Thistlethwaite Kingsford Smith | No | |
| Maria Vamvakinou Calwell | No | |
| Tim Watts Gellibrand | No | |
| Josh Wilson Fremantle | No | |
| Tony Zappia Makin | No | |
| Brendan O'Connor Gorton | Absent | |
| Wayne Swan Lilley | Absent | |
| Mark Coulton Parkes Deputy Speaker | Yes | |
| Cathy McGowan Indi Independent | No | |
| Andrew Wilkie Denison Independent | No | |
| Bob Katter Kennedy Katter's Australian Party | Yes | |
| Liberal Party (95% turnout) | 47 Yes – 8 No | |
| Tony Abbott Warringah | Yes | |
| Karen Andrews McPherson | Yes | |
| Kevin Andrews Menzies | Yes | |
| Julie Bishop Curtin | Yes | |
| Russell Broadbent McMillan | Yes | |
| Scott Buchholz Wright | Yes | |
| Steven Ciobo Moncrieff | Yes | |
| David Coleman Banks | Yes | |
| Chris Crewther Dunkley | Yes | |
| Peter Dutton Dickson | Yes | |
| Paul Fletcher Bradfield | Yes | |
| Nicolle Flint Boothby | Yes | |
| Josh Frydenberg Kooyong | Yes | |
| Ian Goodenough Moore | Yes | |
| Andrew Hastie Canning | Yes | |
| Alex Hawke Mitchell | Yes | |
| Sarah Henderson Corangamite | Yes | |
| Greg Hunt Flinders | Yes | |
| Steve Irons Swan | Yes | |
| Michael Keenan Stirling | Yes | |
| Craig Kelly Hughes | Yes | |
| Craig Laundy Reid | Yes | |
| Julian Leeser Berowra | Yes | |
| Nola Marino Forrest | Yes | |
| John McVeigh Groom | Yes | |
| Scott Morrison Cook | Yes | |
| Ben Morton Tangney | Yes | |
| Ted O'Brien Fairfax | Yes | |
| Kelly O'Dwyer Higgins | Yes | |
| Tony Pasin Barker | Yes | |
| Christian Porter Pearce | Yes | |
| Melissa Price Durack | Yes | |
| Rowan Ramsey Grey | Yes | |
| Stuart Robert Fadden | 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 | |
| Ross Vasta Bonner | Yes | |
| Andrew Wallace Fisher | Yes | |
| Lucy Wicks Robertson | Yes | |
| Rick Wilson O'Connor | Yes | |
| Jason Wood La Trobe | Yes | |
| Ken Wyatt Hasluck | Yes | |
| Julia Banks Chisholm | No | |
| Warren Entsch Leichhardt | No | |
| Trevor Evans Brisbane | No | |
| Andrew Laming Bowman | No | |
| Sussan Ley Farrer | No | |
| Jane Prentice Ryan | No | |
| Christopher Pyne Sturt | No | |
| Trent Zimmerman North Sydney | No | |
| Jason Falinski Mackellar | Absent | |
| Luke Howarth Petrie | Absent | |
| Tim Wilson Goldstein | Absent | |
| National Party (93% turnout) | 14 Yes – 0 No | |
| Andrew Broad Mallee | Yes | |
| Darren Chester Gippsland | Yes | |
| George Christensen Dawson | Yes | |
| Damian Drum Murray | Yes | |
| Andrew Gee Calare | Yes | |
| David Gillespie Lyne | Yes | |
| Luke Hartsuyker Cowper | Yes | |
| Kevin Hogan Page | Yes | |
| Barnaby Joyce New England | Yes | |
| Michelle Landry Capricornia | Yes | |
| David Littleproud Maranoa | Yes | |
| Michael McCormack Riverina | Yes | |
| Ken O'Dowd Flynn | Yes | |
| Keith Pitt Hinkler | Yes | |
| Llew O'Brien Wide Bay | Absent | |
| Rebekha Sharkie Mayo Nick Xenophon Team | No | |
| Tony Smith Casey Speaker | Absent | |
| Totals (95% turnout) | 63 Yes – 79 No |
Turnout is the percentage of members eligible to vote that did vote.