edited
9th Oct 2014
Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Amendment Bill 2013 - Consideration in Detail - Debt ceiling of $400 billion
Not passed by a small majority
No rebellions 90% attendance
9th Dec 2013, 12:53 PM – Senate Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Amendment Bill 2013 - Consideration of House of Representatives Message - Adopt report
Summary
EditThe majority voted in favour a motion that the report of the committee now be adopted. It was moved by Assistant Treasurer Senator Arthur Sinodinos.
Since this motion was successful, the bill as amended by the Senate will now be sent to the House of Representatives for their consideration. The amendment bill removes the debt ceiling altogether rather than simply raise it to $500 billion.
Background to Bill
On 22 October 2013, the Abbott Government announced that it will raise the debt ceiling from $300 billion to $500 billion.(Read more about this in the media here. ) This was following the August 2013 Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Outlook which reported that the Treasurer's standing borrowing authority would reach the $300 billion limit by December 2013.
The purpose of the increase to the debt ceiling is to "provide stability and certainty to financial markets about the Government's ability to issue sufficient debt to manage its budget".(See the explanatory memorandum (106 KB). More about the bill, including its bills digest, is available here.)
Votes Passed by a small 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 (83% turnout) | 0 Yes – 25 No | |
| Catryna Bilyk Tasmania | No | |
| Carol Brown Tasmania | No | |
| Doug Cameron NSW | No | |
| Jacinta Collins Victoria | No | |
| Sam Dastyari NSW | No | |
| Don Farrell SA | No | |
| John Faulkner NSW | No | |
| Mark Furner Queensland | No | |
| Alex Gallacher SA | No | |
| Sue Lines WA | No | |
| Joe Ludwig Queensland | No | |
| Kate Lundy ACT | No | |
| Anne McEwen SA | No | |
| Jan McLucas Queensland | No | |
| Claire Moore Queensland | No | |
| Deborah O'Neill NSW | No | |
| Nova Peris NT | No | |
| Helen Polley Tasmania | No | |
| Louise Pratt WA | No | |
| Lisa Singh Tasmania | No | |
| Ursula Stephens NSW | No | |
| Glenn Sterle WA | No | |
| Mehmet Tillem Victoria | No | |
| Anne Urquhart Tasmania | No | |
| Penny Wong SA | No | |
| Mark Bishop WA | Absent | |
| Kim Carr Victoria | Absent | |
| Stephen Conroy Victoria | Absent | |
| Gavin Marshall Victoria | Absent | |
| Lin Thorp Tasmania | Absent | |
| Nigel Scullion NT Country Liberal Party | Yes | |
| John Madigan Victoria Democratic Labor Party | Yes | |
| Stephen Parry Tasmania Deputy President | Yes | |
| Nick Xenophon SA Independent | Yes | |
| Liberal Party (85% turnout) | 23 Yes – 0 No | |
| 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 | |
| David Johnston WA | Yes | |
| Helen Kroger Victoria | Yes | |
| Ian Macdonald Queensland | Yes | |
| Brett Mason Queensland | Yes | |
| Michael Ronaldson Victoria | Yes | |
| Anne Ruston SA | Yes | |
| Scott Ryan Victoria | Yes | |
| Zed Seselja ACT | Yes | |
| Arthur Sinodinos NSW | Yes | |
| Dean Smith WA | Yes | |
| Eric Abetz Tasmania | Absent | |
| Christopher Back WA | Absent | |
| Bill Heffernan NSW | Absent | |
| Marise Payne NSW | Absent | |
| National Party (100% turnout) | 4 Yes – 0 No | |
| Ron Boswell Queensland | Yes | |
| Bridget McKenzie Victoria | Yes | |
| Fiona Nash NSW | Yes | |
| John Williams NSW | Yes | |
| Nick Xenophon SA Nick Xenophon Team | Absent | |
| John Hogg Queensland President | No | |
| Totals (88% turnout) | 40 Yes – 26 No |
Turnout is the percentage of members eligible to vote that did vote.