Summary

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The majority voted against an amendment to the usual second reading motion, which is "that the bill be read a second time" (parliamentary jargon for agreeing with the main idea of the bill).

Amendment text

At the end of the motion, add “, but the Senate:

(a) notes that:

(i) there are over 42,000 people imprisoned in Australian correctional centres, with many of them working for as little as $2 an hour for certain Australian corporations, including Qantas,

(ii) Australia has the highest rate of prisoners held in privately operated facilities in the world, and private prisons and Australian corporations profit from the use of slave-like labour and wage theft within prisons, exploiting prisoners for financial gain,

(iii) as First Nations people are disproportionately criminalised and incarcerated, the ongoing forced labour through prison labour programs represent modern-day manifestations of colonial practices such as slave labour, indentured servitude, and blackbirding that occurred in Australia,

(iv) this modern history of wage theft and slave-like conditions includes the Community Development Employment Projects, and work-for-the-dole schemes; and

(b) calls on the Government to:

(i) release the exact numbers and names of companies that employ prison labour in Australia, information which is currently unknown as requests for the data has been repeatedly denied by government agencies; and

(ii) ensure that the Australian Anti-Slavery Commissioner has direct powers to refer matters and industries to the Fair Work Commission and the Fair Work Ombudsman, and that the prison industry, and prison labour supply chain is referred immediately”.

Votes Not passed by a modest majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Australian Greens (100% turnout) 11 Yes 0 No
Penny Allman-Payne Queensland Yes
Dorinda Cox WA Yes
Mehreen Faruqi NSW Yes
Sarah Hanson-Young SA Yes
Steph Hodgins-May Victoria Yes
Nick McKim Tasmania Yes
Barbara Pocock SA Yes
David Shoebridge NSW Yes
Jordon Steele-John WA Yes
Larissa Waters Queensland Yes
Peter Whish-Wilson Tasmania Yes
Australian Labor Party (88% turnout) 0 Yes 21 No
Catryna Bilyk Tasmania No
Carol Brown Tasmania No
Anthony Chisholm Queensland No
Raff Ciccone Victoria No
Don Farrell SA 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
Glenn Sterle WA No
Jana Stewart Victoria No
Anne Urquhart Tasmania No
Jess Walsh Victoria No
Murray Watt Queensland No
Tim Ayres NSW Absent
Katy Gallagher ACT Absent
Penny Wong SA Absent
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price NT Country Liberal Party Absent
Andrew McLachlan SA Deputy President No
Lidia Thorpe Victoria Independent Yes
David Pocock ACT Independent Absent
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 (0% turnout) Absent
Matthew Canavan Queensland Absent
James McGrath Queensland Absent
Liberal Party (26% turnout) 0 Yes 6 No
Wendy Askew Tasmania No
Michaelia Cash WA No
Jonathon Duniam Tasmania No
Linda Reynolds WA No
Anne Ruston SA No
Paul Scarr Queensland No
Alex Antic SA Absent
Simon Birmingham SA Absent
Andrew Bragg NSW Absent
Slade Brockman WA Absent
Claire Chandler Tasmania Absent
Richard Colbeck Tasmania Absent
David Fawcett SA Absent
Sarah Henderson Victoria Absent
Hollie Hughes NSW Absent
Jane Hume Victoria Absent
Maria Kovacic NSW Absent
Kerrynne Liddle SA Absent
Matt O'Sullivan WA Absent
James Paterson Victoria Absent
Gerard Rennick Queensland 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 No
Ralph Babet Victoria United Australia Party No
Totals (60% turnout) 12 Yes – 33 No