Summary

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The majority voted against a motion introduced by Greens Senator Larissa Waters, which means that it was rejected.

The motion was:

That the Senate-

(a) notes:

(i) recent revelations of threats to water from the unconventional gas industry, including water contamination with uranium at 20 times the safe level, at coal seam gas company Santos' Pilliga operations,(Read more about this contamination here. )

(ii) recent reports of contamination of groundwater by asbestos contained in drilling fluids at Origin's coal seam gas operations in Queensland, and(Read more about this asbestos scare here.)

(iii) the important role of the Independent Expert Scientific Committee on Coal Seam Gas and Large Coal Mining Development in advising on project impacts and conducting bioregional groundwater assessments; and

(b) calls on the Federal Government to:

(i) not issue any further approvals for unconventional gas mining under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act),

(ii) suspend all existing unconventional gas approvals,

(iii) maintain the funding for the Independent Expert Scientific Committee on Coal Seam Gas and Large Coal Mining Development,

(iv) expand the federal protection for water under the EPBC Act to include shale gas and tight gas mining, and

(v) retain federal powers to protect water from coal seam gas, rather than seeking to delegate these to state governments.

Votes Not passed by a modest majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Australian Greens (89% turnout) 8 Yes 0 No
Richard Di Natale Victoria Yes
Sarah Hanson-Young SA 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
Scott Ludlam WA Absent
Australian Labor Party (70% turnout) 0 Yes 21 No
Catryna Bilyk Tasmania No
Mark Bishop WA No
Carol Brown Tasmania No
Doug Cameron NSW 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
Gavin Marshall Victoria No
Anne McEwen SA No
Claire Moore Queensland No
Deborah O'Neill NSW No
Nova Peris NT No
Helen Polley Tasmania No
Lisa Singh Tasmania No
Glenn Sterle WA No
Mehmet Tillem Victoria No
Kim Carr Victoria Absent
Jacinta Collins Victoria Absent
Stephen Conroy Victoria Absent
Jan McLucas Queensland Absent
Louise Pratt WA Absent
Ursula Stephens NSW Absent
Lin Thorp Tasmania Absent
Anne Urquhart Tasmania Absent
Penny Wong SA Absent
Nigel Scullion NT Country Liberal Party No
John Madigan Victoria Democratic Labor Party Yes
Stephen Parry Tasmania Deputy President Absent
Liberal Party (37% turnout) 0 Yes 10 No
Christopher Back WA No
Cory Bernardi SA No
David Bushby Tasmania No
Sean Edwards SA No
Alan Eggleston WA No
David Fawcett SA No
Concetta Fierravanti-Wells NSW No
Mitch Fifield Victoria No
Helen Kroger Victoria No
Anne Ruston SA No
Eric Abetz Tasmania Absent
Simon Birmingham SA Absent
Sue Boyce Queensland Absent
George Brandis Queensland Absent
Michaelia Cash WA Absent
Richard Colbeck Tasmania Absent
Mathias Cormann WA Absent
Bill Heffernan NSW Absent
David Johnston WA Absent
Ian Macdonald Queensland Absent
Brett Mason Queensland Absent
Marise Payne NSW Absent
Michael Ronaldson Victoria Absent
Scott Ryan Victoria Absent
Zed Seselja ACT Absent
Arthur Sinodinos NSW Absent
Dean Smith WA Absent
National Party (80% turnout) 0 Yes 4 No
Bridget McKenzie Victoria No
Fiona Nash NSW No
Barry O'Sullivan Queensland No
John Williams NSW No
Ron Boswell Queensland Absent
Nick Xenophon SA Nick Xenophon Team Absent
John Hogg Queensland President Absent
Totals (59% turnout) 9 Yes – 36 No