Summary

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The majority voted in favour of a motion introduced by Greens Senator Penny Wright, which related to statements by the Queensland Premier Campbell Newman. The motion was:

That the Senate—

(a) notes the Queensland Premier (Mr Newman) has made recent public statements that:

(i) any lawyer acting for a member of a motorcycling gang is part of what he described as a criminal gang machine, and will say and do anything to defend their clients,

(ii) members of the legal community, including the judiciary, are living out of touch with society and do not understand what the community wants from the law, and

(iii) the doctrine of separation of powers between the legislature, the executive and the judiciary is less applicable to Australia than other places;

(b) affirms that these comments do not acknowledge lawyers' professional obligations, including their duty to the court, the integrity of the judiciary or the application of the separation of powers in Australia's parliamentary democracy, and so are incorrect; and

(c) calls on the Commonwealth Attorney-General (Senator Brandis) to acknowledge and uphold the integrity of the legal profession and the judiciary across Australia.

Read more about Queensland Premier Campbell Newman's comments on ABC News 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 (87% turnout) 26 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
Stephen Conroy Victoria Yes
Sam Dastyari NSW Yes
Don Farrell SA Yes
John Faulkner NSW Yes
Mark Furner Queensland Yes
Alex Gallacher SA Yes
Sue Lines WA Yes
Kate Lundy ACT Yes
Anne McEwen SA Yes
Jan McLucas Queensland Yes
Claire Moore Queensland Yes
Deborah O'Neill NSW Yes
Nova Peris NT Yes
Helen Polley Tasmania Yes
Louise Pratt WA Yes
Lisa Singh Tasmania Yes
Ursula Stephens NSW Yes
Glenn Sterle WA Yes
Lin Thorp Tasmania Yes
Anne Urquhart Tasmania Yes
Joe Ludwig Queensland Absent
Gavin Marshall Victoria Absent
Mehmet Tillem Victoria Absent
Penny Wong SA Absent
Nigel Scullion NT Country Liberal Party No
John Madigan Victoria Democratic Labor Party Yes
Stephen Parry Tasmania Deputy President No
Nick Xenophon SA Independent Yes
Liberal Party (85% turnout) 0 Yes 23 No
Christopher Back WA No
Cory Bernardi SA No
Simon Birmingham SA No
Sue Boyce Queensland No
George Brandis Queensland No
David Bushby Tasmania No
Michaelia Cash WA No
Richard Colbeck Tasmania No
Sean Edwards SA No
Alan Eggleston WA No
David Fawcett SA No
Concetta Fierravanti-Wells NSW No
Mitch Fifield Victoria No
Bill Heffernan NSW No
Helen Kroger Victoria No
Ian Macdonald Queensland No
Brett Mason Queensland No
Marise Payne NSW No
Michael Ronaldson Victoria No
Anne Ruston SA No
Scott Ryan Victoria No
Zed Seselja ACT No
Dean Smith WA No
Eric Abetz Tasmania Absent
Mathias Cormann WA Absent
David Johnston WA Absent
Arthur Sinodinos NSW Absent
National Party (80% turnout) 0 Yes 4 No
Ron Boswell Queensland No
Bridget McKenzie Victoria No
Fiona Nash NSW No
John Williams NSW No
Barry O'Sullivan Queensland Absent
Nick Xenophon SA Nick Xenophon Team Absent
John Hogg Queensland President Absent
Totals (87% turnout) 37 Yes – 29 No