Summary

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The majority voted against a motion introduced by Greens Senator Kerry Nettle. This means that the motion is rejected.

The motion was:

That the Senate-

(a) notes that:

(i) important wetlands and floodplain areas in the Murray-Darling Basin face the threat of irretrievable ecological damage as a result of river diversions and unauthorised interception banks (in areas including, but not limited to, the Condamine, Ballonne and the southern Macquarie Marshes),

(ii) unregulated and unmetered off-stream water storage, such as Cubbie Station, places an unsustainable burden on our shared water resources and undermines efforts to manage limited resources in an equitable and sustainable fashion, and

(iii) while the drought has exacerbated this situation, even a cyclical improvement in drought conditions will not improve these threatened ecosystems while these diversions remain in place; and

(b) calls on the Federal Government to:

(i) work with the New South Wales and Queensland Governments to legislate and regulate to ensure uninterrupted environmental flows, and

(ii) look at options of buying out unsustainable operations such as Cubbie Station.

Votes Not passed by a large majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Australian Democrats (100% turnout) 4 Yes 0 No
Lyn Allison Victoria Yes
Andrew Bartlett Queensland Yes
Andrew Murray WA Yes
Natasha Stott Despoja SA Yes
Australian Greens (100% turnout) 4 Yes 0 No
Bob Brown Tasmania Yes
Christine Milne Tasmania Yes
Kerry Nettle NSW Yes
Rachel Siewert WA Yes
Australian Labor Party (78% turnout) 0 Yes 21 No
Mark Bishop WA No
Carol Brown Tasmania No
Kim Carr Victoria No
Trish Crossin NT No
John Faulkner 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
Robert Ray Victoria 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
George Campbell NSW Absent
Stephen Conroy Victoria Absent
Chris Evans WA Absent
Michael Forshaw NSW Absent
Annette Hurley SA Absent
Steve Hutchins NSW Absent
Nigel Scullion NT Country Liberal Party Absent
John Hogg Queensland Deputy President Absent
Steve Fielding Victoria Family First Party No
Liberal Party (78% turnout) 0 Yes 25 No
Judith Adams WA No
Guy Barnett Tasmania No
Cory Bernardi SA No
George Brandis Queensland No
Grant Chapman SA No
Richard Colbeck Tasmania No
Alan Eggleston WA No
Chris Ellison WA No
Alan Ferguson SA No
Jeannie Ferris SA No
Concetta Fierravanti-Wells NSW No
Mitch Fifield Victoria No
Bill Heffernan NSW No
Gary Humphries ACT No
David Johnston WA No
Rod Kemp Victoria No
Nick Minchin SA No
Stephen Parry Tasmania No
Kay Patterson Victoria No
Marise Payne NSW No
Michael Ronaldson Victoria No
Santo Santoro Queensland No
Judith Troeth Victoria No
Russell Trood Queensland No
John Watson Tasmania No
Eric Abetz Tasmania Absent
Ian Campbell WA Absent
Helen Coonan NSW Absent
Ross Lightfoot WA Absent
Ian Macdonald Queensland Absent
Brett Mason Queensland Absent
Amanda Vanstone SA Absent
National Party (60% turnout) 0 Yes 3 No
Ron Boswell Queensland No
Sandy Macdonald NSW No
Fiona Nash NSW No
Barnaby Joyce Queensland Absent
Julian McGauran Victoria Absent
Paul Calvert Tasmania President No
Totals (78% turnout) 8 Yes – 51 No