Summary

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

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes:

(i) the Tripa forest in Sumatra, an area covered by a 2-year moratorium on new forest-clearing concessions, is being burnt by deliberately lit fires and cleared in order to make way for palm oil concessions,

(ii) the forest is home to people and wildlife and stores massive quantities of carbon, and is also home to the largest concentration of Sumatran orang-utans,

(iii) that leading experts believe the loss of the Tripa forest could lead to the local extinction of Sumatran orang-utans by the end of 2012, and international primate experts such as Ms Jane Goodall and Mr Richard Leakey have called for the protection of the Tripa forest,

(iv) that humanitarian and conservation organisations working within the region have reported that villagers are suffering from health problems associated with the burning and have been subjected to intimidation from both palm oil companies and Indonesian police,

(v) the chair of President Yudhoyono's task force on forests and carbon has expressed concern that 'opening up Tripa – an area with high conservation value and home to many animals endemic to Indonesia – is a grave mistake',

(vi) while the Indonesian Government has launched a police investigation into the criminal activity in the area, palm oil companies continue to illegally clear protected forest, a process that has destroyed countless livelihoods,

(vii) Australia is a significant consumer of palm oil from South East Asia, particularly Indonesia, as Australia imports 130 000 tonnes of palm oil each year,

(viii) the Tripa forest crisis has received major international news coverage in publications such as Time Magazine, Voice of America, the Guardian, the Australian, the Sydney Morning Herald, and the Independent, and

(ix) many conservation groups in Indonesia regard Tripa as a test case that will determine the future of the $1 billion agreement on carbon and forests between Norway and Indonesia;

(b) welcomes the Indonesian Government's investigations of law-breaking in Tripa forest in early May 2012; and

(c) calls on the Australian Government to request the Indonesian Government to fully enforce the law that protects this important region and cease all clearing in the Tripa forest.

Votes Not passed by a modest majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Australian Greens (100% turnout) 9 Yes 0 No
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
Peter Whish-Wilson Tasmania Yes
Penny Wright SA Yes
Australian Labor Party (53% turnout) 0 Yes 16 No
Catryna Bilyk Tasmania No
Doug Cameron NSW No
Trish Crossin NT No
Don Farrell SA No
John Faulkner NSW No
David Feeney Victoria No
Mark Furner Queensland No
Alex Gallacher SA No
Claire Moore Queensland No
Louise Pratt WA No
Lisa Singh Tasmania No
Ursula Stephens NSW No
Glenn Sterle WA No
Matt Thistlethwaite NSW No
Lin Thorp Tasmania No
Anne Urquhart Tasmania No
Mark Bishop WA Absent
Carol Brown Tasmania Absent
Bob Carr NSW Absent
Kim Carr Victoria Absent
Jacinta Collins Victoria Absent
Stephen Conroy Victoria Absent
Chris Evans WA Absent
Joe Ludwig Queensland Absent
Kate Lundy ACT Absent
Gavin Marshall Victoria Absent
Anne McEwen SA Absent
Jan McLucas Queensland Absent
Helen Polley 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 Absent
Nick Xenophon SA Independent Yes
Liberal Party (41% turnout) 0 Yes 11 No
Christopher Back WA No
Cory Bernardi SA No
Richard Colbeck Tasmania No
Mathias Cormann WA No
Sean Edwards SA No
Concetta Fierravanti-Wells NSW No
Mitch Fifield Victoria No
Helen Kroger Victoria No
Anne Ruston SA No
Scott Ryan Victoria No
Dean Smith WA No
Eric Abetz Tasmania Absent
Simon Birmingham SA Absent
Sue Boyce Queensland Absent
George Brandis Queensland Absent
David Bushby Tasmania Absent
Michaelia Cash WA Absent
Alan Eggleston WA Absent
David Fawcett SA Absent
Bill Heffernan NSW Absent
Gary Humphries ACT Absent
David Johnston WA Absent
Ian Macdonald Queensland Absent
Brett Mason Queensland Absent
Marise Payne NSW Absent
Michael Ronaldson 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 Absent
Totals (54% turnout) 10 Yes – 31 No