Summary

Edit

The majority voted against an amendment introduced by Senator Simon Birmingham, which means that it was unsuccessful. The motion was:

(2) Clause 122, page 154 (after line 30), after subclause (3), insert:(3A) In the case of a project which was accredited under the Greenhouse Friendly program at the time that program was terminated—if a methodology determination is made on or before 30 June 2012, the determination may be expressed to have come into force at the start of 1 January 2008.

Senator Birmingham explained that this amendment would provide "continuity, certainty and hopefully mak[e] sure that projects that operate under Greenhouse Friendly can continue to operate under this new scheme".(Read Senator Birmingham's full explanation of his amendment and the associated debate here, after 1:21 pm. )

Background to the bill

The bill was introduced as part of a package of three related bills to establish a voluntary carbon offset scheme, to be called the Carbon Farming Initiative.(The other two related bills were the Carbon Credits (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2011 and the Australian National Registry of Emissions Units Bill 2011. ) Introducing this scheme was a Government election commitment. The bills digest explains that the Initiative will be "a voluntary scheme that aims to provide incentives for the agricultural and forestry sectors to minimise carbon emissions or maximise carbon sequestration by altering their forestry and agricultural practices".

The bill's stated objectives are:

Votes Not passed by a small majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Australian Greens (100% turnout) 0 Yes 9 No
Bob Brown Tasmania No
Richard Di Natale Victoria No
Sarah Hanson-Young SA No
Scott Ludlam WA No
Christine Milne Tasmania No
Lee Rhiannon NSW No
Rachel Siewert WA No
Larissa Waters Queensland No
Penny Wright SA No
Australian Labor Party (87% turnout) 0 Yes 26 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
Don Farrell SA No
John Faulkner NSW No
Mark Furner Queensland No
Alex Gallacher 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
Helen Polley Tasmania No
Louise Pratt WA No
Nick Sherry Tasmania No
Lisa Singh Tasmania No
Ursula Stephens NSW No
Glenn Sterle WA No
Matt Thistlethwaite NSW No
Anne Urquhart Tasmania No
Mark Arbib NSW Absent
Chris Evans WA Absent
David Feeney Victoria Absent
Penny Wong SA Absent
Nigel Scullion NT Country Liberal Party Yes
John Madigan Victoria Democratic Labor Party Yes
Stephen Parry Tasmania Deputy President Yes
Nick Xenophon SA Independent Yes
Liberal Party (85% turnout) 23 Yes 0 No
Eric Abetz Tasmania Yes
Judith Adams WA Yes
Christopher Back WA Yes
Cory Bernardi SA Yes
Simon Birmingham SA Yes
Sue Boyce Queensland Yes
David Bushby Tasmania Yes
Michaelia Cash WA Yes
Richard Colbeck Tasmania Yes
Mathias Cormann WA Yes
Sean Edwards SA Yes
Alan Eggleston WA Yes
David Fawcett SA Yes
Concetta Fierravanti-Wells NSW Yes
Mitch Fifield Victoria Yes
Mary Fisher SA Yes
Bill Heffernan NSW Yes
Gary Humphries ACT Yes
David Johnston WA Yes
Helen Kroger Victoria Yes
Brett Mason Queensland Yes
Michael Ronaldson Victoria Yes
Scott Ryan Victoria Yes
George Brandis Queensland Absent
Helen Coonan NSW Absent
Ian Macdonald Queensland Absent
Marise Payne NSW Absent
National Party (100% turnout) 5 Yes 0 No
Ron Boswell Queensland Yes
Barnaby Joyce Queensland Yes
Bridget McKenzie Victoria Yes
Fiona Nash NSW Yes
John Williams NSW Yes
John Hogg Queensland President No
Totals (89% turnout) 32 Yes – 36 No