edited
7th Oct 2014
Water Amendment (Water for the Environment Special Account) Bill 2012 - Consideration in Detail - 450 Gigalitres
Passed by a small majority
No rebellions 89% attendance
6th Feb 2013, 10:44 AM – Senate Water Amendment (Water for the Environment Special Account) Bill 2012 - In Committee - Buybacks
Summary
EditThe majority voted against a Nationals amendment introduced by Senator Barnaby Joyce, the Leader of the Nationals in the Senate.
The amendment would have omitted paragraph 86AD(2)(b) from the bill. This paragraph states that: (2) Amounts standing to the credit of the Water for the Environment Special Account may be debited for any of the following purposes: ... (b) purchasing water access rights in relation to Basin water resources for the purpose of furthering the object of this Part.
This paragraph relates to a project to increase the available environmental water in the Murray-Darling Basin by 450 Gigalitres. Senator Joyce explains that this amendment "is to make sure that we remove from this extra 450 gigs the capacity for it to be attained through buyback".(Read the rest of Senator Joyce's explanation of the amendment and the associated debate here. ) According to the Department of the Environment website: "Water buybacks obtain water for the environment from irrigators who offer their water entitlement for sale".(That website is available here. )
Background to the bill
The bill(A copy of the bill, its explanatory memoranda and amendments are available here. ) was introduced to establish an Environment Special Account to fund projects that protect and restore environmental assets of the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) and protect water dependent biodiversity of the MDB.(Read more about the bill in this bills digest (696 KB).) The projects will include those that increase the available environmental water in the MDB by 450 Gigalitres.
References
Votes Not passed by a small 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 (90% turnout) | 0 Yes – 27 No | |
| Catryna Bilyk Tasmania | No | |
| Mark Bishop WA | No | |
| Carol Brown Tasmania | No | |
| Doug Cameron NSW | No | |
| Jacinta Collins Victoria | No | |
| Trish Crossin NT | No | |
| Chris Evans WA | No | |
| Don Farrell SA | No | |
| John Faulkner NSW | 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 | |
| Jan McLucas Queensland | No | |
| Claire Moore Queensland | No | |
| Helen Polley Tasmania | 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 | |
| Penny Wong SA | No | |
| Bob Carr NSW | Absent | |
| Kim Carr Victoria | Absent | |
| Stephen Conroy Victoria | 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 | No | |
| Liberal Party (93% turnout) | 25 Yes – 0 No | |
| Christopher Back WA | Yes | |
| Cory Bernardi SA | Yes | |
| Simon Birmingham SA | Yes | |
| Sue Boyce Queensland | Yes | |
| George Brandis 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 | |
| Bill Heffernan NSW | Yes | |
| Gary Humphries ACT | Yes | |
| David Johnston WA | Yes | |
| Helen Kroger Victoria | Yes | |
| Ian Macdonald Queensland | Yes | |
| Marise Payne NSW | Yes | |
| Michael Ronaldson Victoria | Yes | |
| Anne Ruston SA | Yes | |
| Scott Ryan Victoria | Yes | |
| Arthur Sinodinos NSW | Yes | |
| Dean Smith WA | Yes | |
| Eric Abetz Tasmania | Absent | |
| Brett Mason Queensland | Absent | |
| National Party (80% turnout) | 4 Yes – 0 No | |
| Barnaby Joyce Queensland | Yes | |
| Bridget McKenzie Victoria | Yes | |
| Fiona Nash NSW | Yes | |
| John Williams NSW | Yes | |
| Ron Boswell Queensland | Absent | |
| John Hogg Queensland President | No | |
| Totals (91% turnout) | 31 Yes – 38 No |
Turnout is the percentage of members eligible to vote that did vote.