Summary

Edit

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Greens Senator Christine Milne. This means that the motion was rejected.

The motion was the following:

At the end of the motion ["That these bills be now read a second time"], add:

provided that the Government first commits to entering the climate treaty negotiations at the end of 2009 with an unconditional commitment to reduce emissions by at least 25 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020 and a willingness to reduce emissions by 40 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020 in the context of a global treaty.

Background to the bills

The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill 2009 was introduced as part of a package of six bills along with five other related bills to introduce the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.(Read more about the scheme on Wikipedia. ) This is an emission trading scheme designed to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in an effort to address climate change. The scheme gives effect to Australia's obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol.

The design of the scheme has been criticised by the business community for threatening jobs and by environmentalists for not going far enough with its emission reduction targets.(Read more about these criticisms here.)

The six bills that were introduced as a package are called:

The five other related bills are called:

References

Votes Not passed by a large majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Australian Greens (100% turnout) 5 Yes 0 No
Bob Brown Tasmania Yes
Sarah Hanson-Young SA Yes
Scott Ludlam WA Yes
Christine Milne Tasmania Yes
Rachel Siewert WA Yes
Australian Labor Party (94% turnout) 0 Yes 29 No
Mark Arbib NSW No
Catryna Bilyk Tasmania No
Mark Bishop WA No
Carol Brown Tasmania No
Doug Cameron NSW No
Kim Carr Victoria No
Jacinta Collins Victoria No
Stephen Conroy Victoria No
Trish Crossin NT No
Chris Evans WA No
Don Farrell SA No
John Faulkner NSW No
David Feeney Victoria No
Mark Furner Queensland No
Annette Hurley SA No
Steve Hutchins NSW No
Joe Ludwig Queensland No
Kate Lundy ACT No
Gavin Marshall Victoria No
Anne McEwen SA No
Jan McLucas Queensland No
Kerry O'Brien Tasmania No
Helen Polley Tasmania No
Louise Pratt WA No
Nick Sherry Tasmania No
Ursula Stephens NSW No
Glenn Sterle WA No
Penny Wong SA No
Dana Wortley SA No
Michael Forshaw NSW Absent
Claire Moore Queensland Absent
Nigel Scullion NT Country Liberal Party No
Alan Ferguson SA Deputy President No
Steve Fielding Victoria Family First Party No
Nick Xenophon SA Independent Yes
Liberal Party (93% turnout) 0 Yes 28 No
Eric Abetz Tasmania No
Judith Adams WA No
Christopher Back WA No
Guy Barnett Tasmania No
Cory Bernardi SA No
Simon Birmingham SA No
Sue Boyce Queensland No
George Brandis Queensland No
David Bushby Tasmania No
Michaelia Cash WA No
Richard Colbeck Tasmania No
Helen Coonan NSW No
Mathias Cormann WA No
Alan Eggleston WA No
Mitch Fifield Victoria No
Mary Fisher SA No
Gary Humphries ACT No
David Johnston WA No
Helen Kroger Victoria No
Ian Macdonald Queensland No
Brett Mason Queensland No
Nick Minchin SA No
Stephen Parry Tasmania No
Marise Payne NSW No
Michael Ronaldson Victoria No
Scott Ryan Victoria No
Judith Troeth Victoria No
Russell Trood Queensland No
Concetta Fierravanti-Wells NSW Absent
Bill Heffernan NSW Absent
National Party (100% turnout) 0 Yes 5 No
Ron Boswell Queensland No
Barnaby Joyce Queensland No
Julian McGauran Victoria No
Fiona Nash NSW No
John Williams NSW No
John Hogg Queensland President No
Totals (95% turnout) 6 Yes – 66 No