The majority agreed with a motion that: "the committee does not insist on amendments to which the House of Representatives has disagreed and agrees to the amendments made by the House in the place of those amendments."(Read the discussion in the Senate on this motion here. )
In other words, the Senate will not insist on its amendments (numbers 2 and 4 to 13) and will agree to House amendments that were made in their place.(A list of these amendments is available here. ) This means that the bill will be passed in the Senate and can now become law.
The motion was moved by Labor Senator Stephen Conroy.
Debate in Parliament
When the bill was first considered in the Senate, the Senate agreed to two Government and eleven amendments moved by Senators Nick Xenophon, Bill Heffernan, John Madigan, Fiona Nash and Larissa Waters.(A list of all thirteen amendments agreed to in the Senate is available here. The division in which the eleven non-government amendments were agreed to is here. ) These amendments were then sent to the House of Representatives for their consideration.
The House agreed to two of the amendments and made eleven amendments in place of those they disagreed with.(Read the discussion in the House here. )
Background to the bill
The bill establishes an Independent Expert Scientific Committee on Coal Seam Gas and Large Coal Mining Development ('the Committee')(Read more about the Committee here. ) to provide federal, state and territory governments with scientific advice on coal seam gas and large coal mining developments which may have significant impacts on water resources.(See here for explanatory memoranda and proposed amendments.)
References
Nobody rebelled against their party.
| Party | Votes | |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Greens (89% turnout) | 0 Yes – 8 No | |
| Richard Di Natale Victoria | No | |
| Sarah Hanson-Young SA | No | |
| Scott Ludlam WA | No | |
| Lee Rhiannon NSW | No | |
| Rachel Siewert WA | No | |
| Larissa Waters Queensland | No | |
| Peter Whish-Wilson Tasmania | No | |
| Penny Wright SA | No | |
| Christine Milne Tasmania | Absent | |
| Australian Labor Party (70% turnout) | 21 Yes – 0 No | |
| Catryna Bilyk Tasmania | Yes | |
| Mark Bishop WA | Yes | |
| Carol Brown Tasmania | Yes | |
| Doug Cameron NSW | Yes | |
| Jacinta Collins Victoria | Yes | |
| Stephen Conroy Victoria | Yes | |
| Trish Crossin NT | Yes | |
| Don Farrell SA | 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 | |
| Jan McLucas Queensland | Yes | |
| Claire Moore Queensland | Yes | |
| Louise Pratt WA | Yes | |
| Ursula Stephens NSW | Yes | |
| Glenn Sterle WA | Yes | |
| Matt Thistlethwaite NSW | Yes | |
| Lin Thorp Tasmania | Yes | |
| Bob Carr NSW | Absent | |
| Kim Carr Victoria | Absent | |
| Chris Evans WA | Absent | |
| John Faulkner NSW | Absent | |
| Joe Ludwig Queensland | Absent | |
| Helen Polley Tasmania | Absent | |
| Lisa Singh Tasmania | 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 | Absent | |
| Nick Xenophon SA Independent | No | |
| Liberal Party (26% turnout) | 7 Yes – 0 No | |
| Christopher Back WA | Yes | |
| Simon Birmingham SA | Yes | |
| Michaelia Cash WA | Yes | |
| David Fawcett SA | Yes | |
| David Johnston WA | Yes | |
| Anne Ruston SA | Yes | |
| Dean Smith WA | Yes | |
| Eric Abetz Tasmania | Absent | |
| Cory Bernardi SA | Absent | |
| Sue Boyce Queensland | Absent | |
| George Brandis Queensland | Absent | |
| David Bushby Tasmania | Absent | |
| Richard Colbeck Tasmania | Absent | |
| Mathias Cormann WA | Absent | |
| Sean Edwards SA | Absent | |
| Alan Eggleston WA | Absent | |
| Concetta Fierravanti-Wells NSW | Absent | |
| Mitch Fifield Victoria | Absent | |
| Bill Heffernan NSW | Absent | |
| Gary Humphries ACT | Absent | |
| Helen Kroger Victoria | Absent | |
| Ian Macdonald Queensland | Absent | |
| Brett Mason Queensland | Absent | |
| Marise Payne NSW | Absent | |
| Michael Ronaldson Victoria | Absent | |
| Scott Ryan Victoria | Absent | |
| Arthur Sinodinos NSW | Absent | |
| National Party (20% turnout) | 1 Yes – 0 No | |
| Bridget McKenzie Victoria | Yes | |
| Ron Boswell Queensland | Absent | |
| Barnaby Joyce Queensland | Absent | |
| Fiona Nash NSW | Absent | |
| John Williams NSW | Absent | |
| John Hogg Queensland President | Yes | |
| Totals (53% turnout) | 30 Yes – 10 No |
Turnout is the percentage of members eligible to vote that did vote.