Summary

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

This means that the majority agree with the main idea of the bill and that it will now proceed to the Senate Committee, where aspects of the Bill are discussed in greater detail.

The main idea of the bill is to ensure that asylum seekers who unlawfully arrive anywhere in Australia are subject to the same regional processing arrangements as asylum seekers who arrive at an excised offshore place such as Christmas Island.

Background of the Bill

This bill was introduced in response to a report by the Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers, particularly Recommendation 14 which states that: "the Migration Act 1958 be amended so that arrival anywhere on Australia by irregular maritime means will not provide individuals with a different lawful status than those who arrive in an excise offshore place".(Read the full report here. )

By implementing this recommendation, the bill extends the excision regime that was introduced in 2001 following the Tampa affair. That regime provides that asylum seekers who arrive in Australia at excised offshore places are unable to apply for protection visas (in effect, refugee status under Australian law) unless the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship decides it is in the public interest that they do so. The effect of this bill will be to extend the excision provisions to the whole country.(More information on the Migration Amendment (Unauthorised Maritime Arrivals and Other Measures) Bill 2012 is available on the bills digest (680 KB). Also see an ABC news report explaining the effect of this bill here.)

This means that all asylum seekers arriving by boat in either mainland Australia or an offshore Australian territory that has been excised are unable to apply for protection visas and will be sent to regional processing countries (currently Papua New Guinea and Nauru) for the processing of their refugee claims. The rationale behind this legislation is the need to discourage asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat because of the dangers involved.

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 (60% turnout) 18 Yes 0 No
Catryna Bilyk Tasmania Yes
Mark Bishop WA Yes
Carol Brown Tasmania Yes
Doug Cameron NSW Yes
Kim Carr Victoria Yes
Jacinta Collins Victoria Yes
Trish Crossin NT Yes
David Feeney Victoria Yes
Mark Furner Queensland Yes
Alex Gallacher SA Yes
Joe Ludwig Queensland Yes
Gavin Marshall Victoria Yes
Claire Moore Queensland Yes
Louise Pratt WA Yes
Lisa Singh Tasmania Yes
Ursula Stephens NSW Yes
Matt Thistlethwaite NSW Yes
Anne Urquhart Tasmania Yes
Bob Carr NSW Absent
Stephen Conroy Victoria Absent
Don Farrell SA Absent
John Faulkner NSW Absent
Sue Lines WA Absent
Kate Lundy ACT Absent
Anne McEwen SA Absent
Jan McLucas Queensland Absent
Helen Polley Tasmania Absent
Glenn Sterle WA Absent
Lin Thorp Tasmania Absent
Penny Wong SA Absent
Nigel Scullion NT Country Liberal Party Absent
John Madigan Victoria Democratic Labor Party Absent
Stephen Parry Tasmania Deputy President Yes
Nick Xenophon SA Independent Absent
Liberal Party (30% turnout) 8 Yes 0 No
Christopher Back WA Yes
Cory Bernardi SA Yes
Simon Birmingham SA Yes
David Bushby Tasmania Yes
Michaelia Cash WA Yes
Sean Edwards SA Yes
Anne Ruston SA Yes
Dean Smith WA Yes
Eric Abetz Tasmania Absent
Sue Boyce Queensland Absent
George Brandis Queensland Absent
Richard Colbeck Tasmania Absent
Mathias Cormann WA Absent
Alan Eggleston WA Absent
David Fawcett SA Absent
Concetta Fierravanti-Wells NSW Absent
Mitch Fifield Victoria Absent
Bill Heffernan NSW Absent
Gary Humphries ACT Absent
David Johnston WA 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 (40% turnout) 2 Yes 0 No
Bridget McKenzie Victoria Yes
John Williams NSW Yes
Ron Boswell Queensland Absent
Barnaby Joyce Queensland Absent
Fiona Nash NSW Absent
John Hogg Queensland President Absent
Totals (50% turnout) 29 Yes – 9 No