Summary

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The majority voted in favour of a motion to read the bill for a second time.(Read more about the stages that a bill must pass through to become law here. ) This means that the majority agree with the main idea of the bill and that the Senate can now consider it in more detail. Alternatively, the Senate can vote on whether to read the bill for a third time without considering it in any more detail.(In the case of this bill, the Senate did decide to immediately vote on whether to read the bill for a third time without considering it further (see that division here). )

Background to the bill

The bill was introduced in response to recent court and tribunal decisions. Their purpose is to:

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 (73% turnout) 22 Yes 0 No
Catryna Bilyk Tasmania Yes
Mark Bishop WA Yes
Doug Cameron NSW Yes
Sam Dastyari NSW Yes
Don Farrell SA Yes
Mark Furner Queensland Yes
Alex Gallacher SA Yes
Sue Lines WA Yes
Joe Ludwig Queensland Yes
Kate Lundy ACT Yes
Gavin Marshall Victoria Yes
Anne McEwen SA Yes
Claire Moore Queensland 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
Mehmet Tillem Victoria Yes
Anne Urquhart Tasmania Yes
Carol Brown Tasmania Absent
Kim Carr Victoria Absent
Jacinta Collins Victoria Absent
Stephen Conroy Victoria Absent
John Faulkner NSW Absent
Jan McLucas Queensland Absent
Deborah O'Neill NSW 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
Liberal Party (44% turnout) 12 Yes 0 No
Sue Boyce Queensland Yes
Michaelia Cash WA Yes
Richard Colbeck Tasmania Yes
Sean Edwards SA Yes
David Fawcett SA Yes
Helen Kroger Victoria Yes
Ian Macdonald Queensland Yes
Brett Mason Queensland Yes
Anne Ruston SA Yes
Zed Seselja ACT Yes
Arthur Sinodinos NSW Yes
Dean Smith WA Yes
Eric Abetz Tasmania Absent
Christopher Back WA Absent
Cory Bernardi SA Absent
Simon Birmingham SA Absent
George Brandis Queensland Absent
David Bushby Tasmania Absent
Mathias Cormann WA Absent
Alan Eggleston WA Absent
Concetta Fierravanti-Wells NSW Absent
Mitch Fifield Victoria Absent
Bill Heffernan NSW Absent
David Johnston WA Absent
Marise Payne NSW Absent
Michael Ronaldson Victoria Absent
Scott Ryan Victoria Absent
National Party (40% turnout) 2 Yes 0 No
Barry O'Sullivan Queensland Yes
John Williams NSW Yes
Ron Boswell Queensland Absent
Bridget McKenzie Victoria Absent
Fiona Nash NSW Absent
Nick Xenophon SA Nick Xenophon Team Absent
John Hogg Queensland President Yes
Totals (62% turnout) 38 Yes – 9 No