Summary

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The majority voted in favour of a motion "That these bills be now read a second time".(Read more about the stages that a bill must pass through to become law here. ) This means that the majority agreed with the main idea of the bills and that the Senate can now discuss them in more detail.

Background to the bills

The Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Welfare Payment Reform) Bill 2007 was introduced along with four other bills:

This legislation was introduced in response to the Report of the Northern Territory Board of Inquiry into the Protection of Aboriginal Children from Sexual Abuse, known as the Little Children are Sacred report, which was publicly released on 15 June 2007.(Read more about the background of the bills in the interim bills digest. ) That report came after concerns were raised on ABC's Lateline program in 2006.(Read the transcript for the Lateline programs that addressed the issue of child abuse in Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory here (the May 2006 program) and here (the June 2006 program).)

Votes Passed by a large majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Lyn Allison Victoria Yes
Andrew Bartlett Queensland Yes
Andrew Murray WA Yes
Natasha Stott Despoja SA Yes
Bob Brown Tasmania No
Christine Milne Tasmania No
Kerry Nettle NSW No
Rachel Siewert WA No
Mark Bishop WA Yes
Carol Brown Tasmania Yes
Kim Carr Victoria Yes
Trish Crossin NT Yes
Chris Evans WA Yes
Michael Forshaw NSW Yes
Annette Hurley SA Yes
Linda Kirk SA Yes
Kate Lundy ACT Yes
Anne McEwen SA Yes
Jan McLucas Queensland Yes
Kerry O'Brien Tasmania Yes
Helen Polley Tasmania Yes
Robert Ray Victoria Yes
Ursula Stephens NSW Yes
Glenn Sterle WA Yes
Ruth Webber WA Yes
Penny Wong SA Yes
George Campbell NSW Absent
Stephen Conroy Victoria Absent
John Faulkner NSW Absent
Steve Hutchins NSW Absent
Joe Ludwig Queensland Absent
Gavin Marshall Victoria Absent
Claire Moore Queensland Absent
Nick Sherry Tasmania Absent
Dana Wortley SA Absent
Nigel Scullion NT Country Liberal Party Yes
John Hogg Queensland Deputy President Yes
Steve Fielding Victoria Family First Party Yes
Judith Adams WA Yes
Guy Barnett Tasmania Yes
Cory Bernardi SA Yes
Simon Birmingham SA Yes
Sue Boyce Queensland Yes
George Brandis Queensland Yes
Grant Chapman SA Yes
Richard Colbeck Tasmania Yes
Mathias Cormann WA Yes
Alan Eggleston WA Yes
Concetta Fierravanti-Wells NSW Yes
Mitch Fifield Victoria Yes
Mary Fisher SA Yes
Bill Heffernan NSW Yes
David Johnston WA Yes
Rod Kemp Victoria Yes
Ross Lightfoot WA Yes
Ian Macdonald Queensland Yes
Brett Mason Queensland Yes
Stephen Parry Tasmania Yes
Kay Patterson Victoria Yes
Marise Payne NSW Yes
Russell Trood Queensland Yes
John Watson Tasmania Yes
Eric Abetz Tasmania Absent
Helen Coonan NSW Absent
Chris Ellison WA Absent
Gary Humphries ACT Absent
Nick Minchin SA Absent
Michael Ronaldson Victoria Absent
Judith Troeth Victoria Absent
Julian McGauran Victoria Yes
Fiona Nash NSW Yes
Ron Boswell Queensland Absent
Barnaby Joyce Queensland Absent
Sandy Macdonald NSW Absent
Paul Calvert Tasmania President Yes
Totals (76% turnout) 52 Yes – 4 No