Summary

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The majority voted in favour of a motion introduced by Greens Senator Larissa Waters (QLD), which means it succeeded. Motions like these don't make any legal changes on their own, but can be politically influential as they represent the will of the Senate.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) disclosure of donations made to political parties is only made public by the Australian Electoral Commission once a year, on 1 February, for the preceding financial year,

(ii) there is up to an 18 month delay between when a donation is made and when it is publicly disclosed, and at minimum a 7 month delay,

(iii) since 2012, the major parties have received approximately $100 million in donations from corporate entities,

(iv) the voters in the electorates of Braddon, Fremantle, Longman, Mayo and Perth will have to wait until 1 February 2020, some 18 months after the by-election date, before they know who funded those campaigns,

(v) the voters in the electorate of Wentworth will have to wait almost 16 months before they know who funded political parties' by-election campaigns, and

(vi) under current legislation for federal elections, voters go to the ballot box without any information about how their local candidates and political parties have funded their campaigns – the identity of donors or amounts donated; and

(b) calls on the Federal Government to require all donations of $1000 and above to be disclosed in close to real-time on an easy-to-search public website, to ensure voters have access to information about who is bank-rolling political campaigns before they vote.

Votes Passed by a small majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Cory Bernardi SA Australian Conservatives Yes
Australian Greens (100% turnout) 9 Yes 0 No
Richard Di Natale Victoria Yes
Mehreen Faruqi NSW Yes
Sarah Hanson-Young SA Yes
Nick McKim Tasmania Yes
Janet Rice Victoria Yes
Rachel Siewert WA Yes
Jordon Steele-John WA Yes
Larissa Waters Queensland Yes
Peter Whish-Wilson Tasmania Yes
Australian Labor Party (68% turnout) 17 Yes 0 No
Doug Cameron NSW Yes
Kim Carr Victoria Yes
Anthony Chisholm Queensland Yes
Jacinta Collins Victoria Yes
Patrick Dodson WA Yes
Alex Gallacher SA Yes
Kristina Keneally NSW Yes
Chris Ketter Queensland Yes
Jenny McAllister NSW Yes
Malarndirri McCarthy NT Yes
Deborah O'Neill NSW Yes
Helen Polley Tasmania Yes
Louise Pratt WA Yes
Lisa Singh Tasmania Yes
Glenn Sterle WA Yes
Anne Urquhart Tasmania Yes
Murray Watt Queensland Yes
Catryna Bilyk Tasmania Absent
Carol Brown Tasmania Absent
Don Farrell SA Absent
Kimberley Kitching Victoria Absent
Gavin Marshall Victoria Absent
Claire Moore Queensland Absent
David Smith ACT Absent
Penny Wong SA Absent
Centre Alliance (100% turnout) 2 Yes 0 No
Stirling Griff SA Yes
Rex Patrick SA Yes
Nigel Scullion NT Country Liberal Party No
Derryn Hinch Victoria Derryn Hinch's Justice Party Yes
Sue Lines WA Deputy President Absent
Tim Storer SA Independent Yes
Lucy Gichuhi SA Independent No
Fraser Anning Queensland Independent Absent
Steve Martin Tasmania Independent Absent
Fraser Anning Queensland Katter's Australian 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 (65% turnout) 0 Yes 15 No
Eric Abetz Tasmania No
David Bushby Tasmania No
Michaelia Cash WA No
Richard Colbeck Tasmania No
Jonathon Duniam Tasmania No
David Fawcett SA No
Concetta Fierravanti-Wells NSW No
Mitch Fifield Victoria No
Jane Hume Victoria No
Jim Molan NSW No
Marise Payne NSW No
Linda Reynolds WA No
Anne Ruston SA No
Dean Smith WA No
Amanda Stoker Queensland No
Simon Birmingham SA Absent
Slade Brockman WA Absent
Mathias Cormann WA Absent
Lucy Gichuhi SA Absent
Ian Macdonald Queensland Absent
James Paterson Victoria Absent
Zed Seselja ACT Absent
Arthur Sinodinos NSW Absent
National Party (100% turnout) 0 Yes 3 No
Bridget McKenzie Victoria No
Barry O'Sullivan Queensland No
John Williams NSW No
Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party (0% turnout) Absent
Peter Georgiou WA Absent
Pauline Hanson Queensland Absent
Scott Ryan Victoria President Absent
Brian Burston NSW United Australia Party Absent
Totals (72% turnout) 31 Yes – 24 No