Summary

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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 here. ) This means that the majority of senators agree with the main idea of the bill and can now discuss it in more detail.

One senator, Australian Democrat Senator Andrew Bartlett, rebelled against his party and crossed the floor to vote 'no' against this motion.(Read more about what it means to cross the floor in our FAQ Section. )

Background to the bill

The bill was introduced to allow the federal government to sell its interest in Medibank Private Limited and allow Medibank to operate on a “for profit” basis. The Coalition Government plans to do this after the 2007 election, should it be re-elected.(Read more about this privatisation proposal on Wikipedia here and on the ABC's World Today program here.)

Votes Passed by a small majority

There was 1 rebellion in this division.

  • Andrew Bartlett voted No against the majority of the Australian Democrats.
Party Votes
Australian Democrats (75% turnout) 2 Yes 1 No
Lyn Allison Victoria Yes
Andrew Murray WA Yes
Andrew Bartlett Queensland No
Natasha Stott Despoja SA Absent
Australian Greens (100% turnout) 0 Yes 4 No
Bob Brown Tasmania No
Christine Milne Tasmania No
Kerry Nettle NSW No
Rachel Siewert WA No
Australian Labor Party (78% turnout) 0 Yes 21 No
Kim Carr Victoria No
Trish Crossin NT No
John Faulkner NSW No
Michael Forshaw NSW No
Annette Hurley SA No
Steve Hutchins NSW No
Linda Kirk SA No
Joe Ludwig Queensland No
Kate Lundy ACT No
Gavin Marshall Victoria No
Anne McEwen SA No
Jan McLucas Queensland No
Claire Moore Queensland No
Kerry O'Brien Tasmania No
Helen Polley Tasmania No
Nick Sherry Tasmania No
Ursula Stephens NSW No
Glenn Sterle WA No
Ruth Webber WA No
Penny Wong SA No
Dana Wortley SA No
Mark Bishop WA Absent
Carol Brown Tasmania Absent
George Campbell NSW Absent
Stephen Conroy Victoria Absent
Chris Evans WA Absent
Robert Ray Victoria Absent
Nigel Scullion NT Country Liberal Party Yes
John Hogg Queensland Deputy President No
Steve Fielding Victoria Family First Party No
Liberal Party (78% turnout) 25 Yes 0 No
Eric Abetz Tasmania Yes
Cory Bernardi SA Yes
George Brandis Queensland Yes
Grant Chapman SA Yes
Richard Colbeck Tasmania Yes
Alan Eggleston WA Yes
Chris Ellison WA Yes
Alan Ferguson SA Yes
Jeannie Ferris SA Yes
Concetta Fierravanti-Wells NSW Yes
Mitch Fifield Victoria Yes
Bill Heffernan NSW Yes
Gary Humphries ACT Yes
David Johnston WA Yes
Rod Kemp Victoria Yes
Ross Lightfoot WA Yes
Ian Macdonald Queensland Yes
Nick Minchin SA Yes
Stephen Parry Tasmania Yes
Kay Patterson Victoria Yes
Marise Payne NSW Yes
Michael Ronaldson Victoria Yes
Santo Santoro Queensland Yes
Judith Troeth Victoria Yes
Russell Trood Queensland Yes
Judith Adams WA Absent
Guy Barnett Tasmania Absent
Ian Campbell WA Absent
Helen Coonan NSW Absent
Brett Mason Queensland Absent
Amanda Vanstone SA Absent
John Watson Tasmania Absent
National Party (100% turnout) 5 Yes 0 No
Ron Boswell Queensland Yes
Barnaby Joyce Queensland Yes
Sandy Macdonald NSW Yes
Julian McGauran Victoria Yes
Fiona Nash NSW Yes
Paul Calvert Tasmania President Yes
Totals (82% turnout) 34 Yes – 28 No