Summary

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The majority voted against a motion introduced by Greens Senator Christine Milne, which means the motion was unsuccessful.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) China's twelfth 5 year plan is expected to introduce caps on coal use from 2015,

(ii) the price of coking coal has already dropped some 40 per cent in the past year, due in large part to a drop in China's demand for imported coal,

(iii) China expects utility scale solar power to out-compete new coal-fired power stations by the end of the decade, while the Indian Government expects the cost crossover as soon as 2016,

(iv) India's economic giant, Tata Power, has publicly stated that its new investments will favour renewable energy, as coal power is becoming 'impossible' to develop,

(v) the Australian Bureau of Resource and Energy Economics (BREE) continues to predict that coal exports will double over the next two decades, and

(vi) Australia is leaving itself economically exposed by focusing on the development of coal export infrastructure; and

(b) calls on the Government to:

(i) require BREE to review its modelling based on the current geopolitics of coal, and

(ii) rethink Australia's economic settings, which assume ongoing increases in the coal export market, and instead look to broaden Australia's economic base and build a more competitive clean energy economy.

Votes Not passed by a modest majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Australian Greens (100% turnout) 9 Yes 0 No
Bob Brown Tasmania Yes
Richard Di Natale Victoria Yes
Sarah Hanson-Young SA Yes
Scott Ludlam WA Yes
Christine Milne Tasmania Yes
Lee Rhiannon NSW Yes
Rachel Siewert WA Yes
Larissa Waters Queensland Yes
Penny Wright SA Yes
Australian Labor Party (60% turnout) 0 Yes 18 No
Catryna Bilyk Tasmania No
Doug Cameron NSW No
Jacinta Collins Victoria No
Trish Crossin NT No
Don Farrell SA No
David Feeney Victoria 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
Claire Moore Queensland No
Helen Polley Tasmania No
Louise Pratt WA No
Nick Sherry Tasmania No
Ursula Stephens NSW No
Matt Thistlethwaite NSW No
Mark Bishop WA Absent
Carol Brown Tasmania Absent
Bob Carr NSW Absent
Kim Carr Victoria Absent
Stephen Conroy Victoria Absent
Chris Evans WA Absent
John Faulkner NSW Absent
Jan McLucas Queensland Absent
Lisa Singh Tasmania Absent
Glenn Sterle WA Absent
Anne Urquhart Tasmania Absent
Penny Wong SA Absent
Nigel Scullion NT Country Liberal Party Absent
John Madigan Victoria Democratic Labor Party No
Stephen Parry Tasmania Deputy President No
Nick Xenophon SA Independent Yes
Liberal Party (41% turnout) 0 Yes 11 No
Christopher Back WA No
Cory Bernardi SA No
Simon Birmingham SA No
Sue Boyce Queensland No
Richard Colbeck Tasmania No
Sean Edwards SA No
David Fawcett SA No
Mitch Fifield Victoria No
Mary Fisher SA No
Helen Kroger Victoria No
Marise Payne NSW No
Eric Abetz Tasmania Absent
Judith Adams WA Absent
George Brandis Queensland Absent
David Bushby Tasmania Absent
Michaelia Cash WA Absent
Mathias Cormann WA Absent
Alan Eggleston WA Absent
Concetta Fierravanti-Wells NSW Absent
Bill Heffernan NSW Absent
Gary Humphries ACT Absent
David Johnston WA Absent
Ian Macdonald Queensland Absent
Brett Mason Queensland Absent
Michael Ronaldson Victoria Absent
Scott Ryan Victoria Absent
Arthur Sinodinos NSW Absent
National Party (60% turnout) 0 Yes 3 No
Bridget McKenzie Victoria No
Fiona Nash NSW No
John Williams NSW No
Ron Boswell Queensland Absent
Barnaby Joyce Queensland Absent
John Hogg Queensland President No
Totals (59% turnout) 10 Yes – 35 No