Summary

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The majority voted against an amendment introduced by NSW Senator Mehreen Faruqi (Greens), which means it failed.

What does this amendment do?

Senator Faruqi explained that:

While this bill is a really big step forward in terms of removing the minister's veto power, I think there are some areas in this bill which still leave that power within the minister's jurisdiction. This amendment removes the minister's power to not approve, or to terminate, ARC research funding for reasons relevant to international relations of Australia. The ARC review recommended retaining a ministerial veto only for reasons of national security, but this bill broadens those reasons by adding international relations as a reason for a veto as well. Researchers, including the Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences and five Australian academies, have raised concerns that this risks being interpreted broadly and could lead to unintended consequences.

The breadth of the international relations veto power is concerning because, in determining whether to veto research funding for international relations reasons, the bill explicitly notes that the minister may regard any matter they consider appropriate. This is a pretty wide discretion that does present a real risk. A huge amount of international collaboration occurs across the research sector. An explicit object of the ARC as proposed by this bill is to support collaborative research with international partners, so clearly there is a risk that the international relations veto could be relevant to many research projects and does present a risk of interference that this bill is trying to remove more broadly. My amendment would remove this risk.

Amendment text

(1) Schedule 3, item 6, page 23 (line 1), omit ", defence or international relations", substitute "or defence".

(2) Schedule 3, item 6, page 23 (lines 3 and 4), omit ", defence or international relations", substitute "or defence".

(3) Schedule 3, item 6, page 24 (line 17), omit ", defence or international relations", substitute "or defence".

(4) Schedule 3, item 6, page 24 (lines 20 and 21), omit ", defence or international relations", substitute "or defence".

(5) Schedule 3, item 6, page 29 (lines 27 and 28), omit ", defence or international relations", substitute "or defence".

(6) Schedule 3, item 6, page 29 (lines 31 and 32), omit ", defence or international relations", substitute "or defence".

(7) Schedule 3, item 6, page 32 (lines 23 and 24), omit ", defence or international relations", substitute "or defence".

(8) Schedule 3, item 6, page 32 (line 26), omit ", defence or international relations", substitute "or defence".

(9) Schedule 3, item 6, page 33 (line 26), omit ", defence or international relations", substitute "or defence".

Votes Not passed by a modest majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Australian Greens (91% turnout) 10 Yes 0 No
Penny Allman-Payne Queensland Yes
Dorinda Cox WA Yes
Mehreen Faruqi NSW Yes
Sarah Hanson-Young SA Yes
Nick McKim Tasmania Yes
Janet Rice Victoria Yes
David Shoebridge NSW Yes
Jordon Steele-John WA Yes
Larissa Waters Queensland Yes
Peter Whish-Wilson Tasmania Yes
Barbara Pocock SA Absent
Australian Labor Party (79% turnout) 0 Yes 19 No
Tim Ayres NSW No
Catryna Bilyk Tasmania No
Carol Brown Tasmania No
Anthony Chisholm Queensland No
Raff Ciccone Victoria No
Varun Ghosh WA No
Nita Green Queensland No
Karen Grogan SA No
Jenny McAllister NSW No
Malarndirri McCarthy NT No
Deborah O'Neill NSW No
Fatima Payman WA No
Helen Polley Tasmania No
Louise Pratt WA No
Tony Sheldon NSW No
Marielle Smith SA No
Anne Urquhart Tasmania No
Jess Walsh Victoria No
Murray Watt Queensland No
Don Farrell SA Absent
Katy Gallagher ACT Absent
Glenn Sterle WA Absent
Jana Stewart Victoria Absent
Penny Wong SA Absent
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price NT Country Liberal Party Absent
Andrew McLachlan SA Deputy President Absent
David Pocock ACT Independent Yes
Lidia Thorpe Victoria Independent Yes
David Van Victoria Independent Absent
Jacqui Lambie Network (100% turnout) 0 Yes 2 No
Jacqui Lambie Tasmania No
Tammy Tyrrell Tasmania No
Liberal National Party (50% turnout) 0 Yes 1 No
Matthew Canavan Queensland No
James McGrath Queensland Absent
Liberal Party (17% turnout) 0 Yes 4 No
David Fawcett SA No
Sarah Henderson Victoria No
Matt O'Sullivan WA No
Paul Scarr Queensland No
Alex Antic SA Absent
Wendy Askew Tasmania Absent
Simon Birmingham SA Absent
Andrew Bragg NSW Absent
Slade Brockman WA Absent
Michaelia Cash WA Absent
Claire Chandler Tasmania Absent
Richard Colbeck Tasmania Absent
Jonathon Duniam Tasmania Absent
Hollie Hughes NSW Absent
Jane Hume Victoria Absent
Maria Kovacic NSW Absent
Kerrynne Liddle SA Absent
James Paterson Victoria Absent
Gerard Rennick Queensland Absent
Linda Reynolds WA Absent
Anne Ruston SA Absent
Dave Sharma NSW Absent
Dean Smith WA Absent
National Party (0% turnout) Absent
Ross Cadell NSW Absent
Perin Davey NSW Absent
Susan McDonald Queensland Absent
Bridget McKenzie Victoria Absent
Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party (50% turnout) 0 Yes 1 No
Malcolm Roberts Queensland No
Pauline Hanson Queensland Absent
Sue Lines WA President Absent
Ralph Babet Victoria United Australia Party No
Totals (53% turnout) 12 Yes – 28 No