Summary

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The majority voted in favour of a motion to read the bill a third time.

This means that the bill is now passed in the Senate and, as it has already passed in the House of Representatives, it will now become law.

The purpose of the bill is to introduce a new framework for taking offshore entry persons (that is, people who arrive without a visa at an excised offshore place such as Christmas Island) to another country for assessment of their refugee claims.

Background to the bill

The bill was originally introduced in the House of Representatives as the Migration Legislation Amendment (Offshore Processing and Other Measures) Bill 2011. It was drafted in response to the High Court's judgement in Plaintiff M70/2011 v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship [2011] HCA 32, which put an end to the Labor Government's Malaysia Solution policy.(Read more about the decision on Wikipedia here and on ABC News here. Read more about the effect of this decision on the Malaysia Solution here.)

To this end, the bill amends the Migration Act 1958 to replace the existing framework for taking offshore entry persons to another country for assessment of their claims to be refugees. The bill also replaces discretionary detention with mandatory detention for all asylum seekers at an offshore place, such as Christmas Island, and alters the Immigration (Guardianship of Children) Act 1946 in relation to making and implementing any decision to remove, deport or take a non-citizen child from Australia by overriding the guardianship obligations under that Act.

References

Votes Passed by a modest majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Australian Greens (100% turnout) 0 Yes 9 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
Peter Whish-Wilson Tasmania No
Penny Wright SA No
Australian Labor Party (77% turnout) 23 Yes 0 No
Mark Bishop WA Yes
Doug Cameron NSW Yes
Kim Carr Victoria Yes
Stephen Conroy Victoria Yes
Trish Crossin NT Yes
Chris Evans WA Yes
John Faulkner NSW Yes
David Feeney Victoria Yes
Mark Furner Queensland Yes
Alex Gallacher SA Yes
Kate Lundy ACT Yes
Gavin Marshall Victoria Yes
Anne McEwen SA Yes
Claire Moore Queensland Yes
Helen Polley Tasmania Yes
Louise Pratt WA Yes
Lisa Singh Tasmania Yes
Ursula Stephens NSW Yes
Glenn Sterle WA Yes
Matt Thistlethwaite NSW Yes
Lin Thorp Tasmania Yes
Anne Urquhart Tasmania Yes
Penny Wong SA Yes
Catryna Bilyk Tasmania Absent
Carol Brown Tasmania Absent
Bob Carr NSW Absent
Jacinta Collins Victoria Absent
Don Farrell SA Absent
Joe Ludwig Queensland Absent
Jan McLucas Queensland Absent
Nigel Scullion NT Country Liberal Party Absent
John Madigan Victoria Democratic Labor Party Yes
Stephen Parry Tasmania Deputy President Yes
Nick Xenophon SA Independent Yes
Liberal Party (50% turnout) 13 Yes 0 No
Eric Abetz Tasmania Yes
Christopher Back WA Yes
Sue Boyce Queensland Yes
George Brandis Queensland Yes
Michaelia Cash WA Yes
Richard Colbeck Tasmania Yes
Sean Edwards SA Yes
Alan Eggleston WA Yes
Mitch Fifield Victoria Yes
David Johnston WA Yes
Helen Kroger Victoria Yes
Arthur Sinodinos NSW Yes
Dean Smith WA Yes
Cory Bernardi SA Absent
Simon Birmingham SA Absent
David Bushby Tasmania Absent
Mathias Cormann WA Absent
David Fawcett SA Absent
Concetta Fierravanti-Wells NSW Absent
Bill Heffernan NSW Absent
Gary Humphries ACT Absent
Ian Macdonald Queensland Absent
Brett Mason Queensland Absent
Marise Payne NSW Absent
Michael Ronaldson Victoria Absent
Scott Ryan Victoria Absent
National Party (80% turnout) 4 Yes 0 No
Ron Boswell Queensland Yes
Bridget McKenzie Victoria Yes
Fiona Nash NSW Yes
John Williams NSW Yes
Barnaby Joyce Queensland Absent
John Hogg Queensland President Yes
Totals (71% turnout) 44 Yes – 9 No