Summary

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The majority voted against amendments introduced by Greens Senator Christine Milne, which means they were rejected.

Senator Milne explained that these amendments related to the definition of 'electricity retailer' and would remove ambiguity about which entities are affected by the consumer protection provisions. It addresses concerns that people with solar panels or hospitals producing electricity with co-generation will be captured.(Read Senator Milne's full explanation as well as the whole debate on these amendments here, after 9:59 am. )

Background to the bills

The Clean Energy Legislation (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2014 and related bills were introduced to repeal the carbon pricing mechanism, which was introduced by the Australian Labor Party while in government. The Coalition described the mechanism as a “carbon tax” and removing it was a key policy platform during the 2013 election.(You can read more about the Coalition's policy to remove the carbon price here. )

The carbon pricing mechanism commenced on 1 July 2012.(For more information on the carbon pricing mechanism and how it works, please see the Clean Energy Regulator’s website. ) It is an emissions trading scheme that puts a price on carbon emissions. It applies to “liable entities” (a group that includes companies that emit a high level of greenhouse gases). Initially the price of carbon is fixed by the mechanism but from 1 July 2015 the price will be set by the market, though the Labor Government did announce plans to bring this forward to 1 July 2014 just before they were defeated by the Coalition in the 2013 election.

This is the third time that this package of bills have been introduced. The first time, they were rejected in the Senate during the third reading stage.(See that division here. ) The second time, they were rejected in the Senate during the committee stage.(See that division here. Read more about this second rejection of this package of bills on ABC News here or on the World Today here.)

The bills included in this package are the following:

Votes Not passed by a modest majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Australian Greens (100% turnout) 10 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
Janet Rice Victoria Yes
Rachel Siewert WA Yes
Larissa Waters Queensland Yes
Peter Whish-Wilson Tasmania Yes
Penny Wright SA Yes
Australian Labor Party (46% turnout) 0 Yes 11 No
Joe Bullock WA No
John Faulkner NSW No
Alex Gallacher SA No
Sue Lines WA No
Joe Ludwig Queensland No
Anne McEwen SA No
Claire Moore Queensland No
Deborah O'Neill NSW No
Nova Peris NT No
Lisa Singh Tasmania No
Anne Urquhart Tasmania No
Catryna Bilyk Tasmania Absent
Carol Brown Tasmania Absent
Doug Cameron NSW Absent
Kim Carr Victoria Absent
Jacinta Collins Victoria Absent
Stephen Conroy Victoria Absent
Sam Dastyari NSW Absent
Chris Ketter Queensland Absent
Kate Lundy ACT Absent
Jan McLucas Queensland Absent
Helen Polley Tasmania Absent
Glenn Sterle WA Absent
Penny Wong SA Absent
Ricky Muir Victoria Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party No
Nigel Scullion NT Country Liberal Party Absent
John Madigan Victoria Democratic Labor Party No
Gavin Marshall Victoria Deputy President No
Bob Day SA Family First Party No
David Leyonhjelm NSW Liberal Democratic Party No
Liberal National Party (100% turnout) 0 Yes 2 No
Matthew Canavan Queensland No
James McGrath Queensland No
Liberal Party (80% turnout) 0 Yes 20 No
Eric Abetz Tasmania No
Christopher Back WA No
Cory Bernardi SA No
Simon Birmingham SA No
David Bushby Tasmania No
Michaelia Cash WA No
Richard Colbeck Tasmania No
Mathias Cormann WA No
Sean Edwards SA No
David Fawcett SA No
Concetta Fierravanti-Wells NSW No
Mitch Fifield Victoria No
Ian Macdonald Queensland No
Marise Payne NSW No
Linda Reynolds WA No
Anne Ruston SA No
Scott Ryan Victoria No
Zed Seselja ACT No
Arthur Sinodinos NSW No
Dean Smith WA No
George Brandis Queensland Absent
Bill Heffernan NSW Absent
David Johnston WA Absent
Brett Mason Queensland Absent
Michael Ronaldson Victoria Absent
National Party (100% turnout) 0 Yes 4 No
Bridget McKenzie Victoria No
Fiona Nash NSW No
Barry O'Sullivan Queensland No
John Williams NSW No
Nick Xenophon SA Nick Xenophon Team Absent
Palmer United Party (100% turnout) 0 Yes 3 No
Jacqui Lambie Tasmania No
Glenn Lazarus Queensland No
Dio Wang WA No
Stephen Parry Tasmania President Absent
Totals (72% turnout) 10 Yes – 45 No