Darren Chester voted moderately against suspending the rules to allow a vote to happen (procedural)

The majority voted in favour of a motion to suspend the usual procedural rules (known as standing orders) so that a motion on whether to pass the bill can be voted on without delay.

The majority voted against a motion by the Leader of the Opposition, Grayndler MP Anthony Albanese (Labor), which means it failed. The motion would have suspended the usual procedural rules (known as standing orders) so that a vote could take place.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Grayndler from moving the following motion immediately—That the House:

(1) notes that:

(a) in attempting to defend a Minister who has deliberately misled the Parliament, the Prime Minister misled the Parliament;

(b) yesterday in Question Time, the Prime Minister told the House that in March 2013, a then detective in Victoria Police's fraud squad, Ross Mitchell, made a statement about former Prime Minister Julia Gillard;

(c) that statement was made word for word by radio host Ben Fordham—a fact which was clear from The Australian newspaper article dated 27 April 2013 by Hedley Thomas which reports that statement;

(d) late yesterday, the Prime Minister admitted that he had misled the Parliament but despite House of Representatives Practice being clear that a misleading of Parliament can be corrected by either making a statement to the House or writing to the Clerk of the House, the Prime Minister instead directed that letter to the Speaker be tabled by another Minister; and

(e) the Prime Minister has refused repeated calls from the Leader of the Opposition to attend the House at 9.30 am today to correct the record in the form demanded by the House; and

(2) therefore, calls on the Prime Minister to do what is required by both House of Representatives Practice and his own Ministerial Standards and immediately attend the Chamber to correct his misleading statement.

The majority voted against a motion introduced by the Leader of the Opposition and Grayndler MP Anthony Albanese (Labor), which means it failed. The motion was to suspend the usual procedural rules (known as standing orders) so that a vote can take place.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Grayndler from moving the following motion immediately—That the House:

(1) notes that:

(a) on the evening of 23 October 2019, The Guardian reported the Minister for Emissions Reduction had used incorrect figures from the City of Sydney Annual Report 2017-18 in a letter to the Lord Mayor of Sydney;

(b) on 24 October 2019, the Minister told the House "The document was drawn directly from the City of Sydney's website";

(c) despite the Minister's claim, all the evidence to date is that no such document ever existed on the website, the altered document has only ever been produced by the Minister's office and the doctored figures have only ever been used by the Minister in his official Ministerial correspondence;

(d) today, the NSW Police confirmed that it had launched Strike Force Garrad to investigate the matter;

(e) paragraph 7.1 of the Ministerial Standards make clear that it is for the Prime Minister to stand aside a Minister if that Minister becomes the subject of an official investigation of alleged illegal conduct; and

(f) in Question Time today, the Prime Minister stonewalled, ridiculed Labor for demanding the Minister for Emissions Reduction be immediately stood aside and shut down debate on the Minister’s conduct; and

(2) therefore, condemns the Prime Minister for his contempt for this Parliament and the principles of ministerial integrity and accountability.

The majority voted against a motion to suspend the usual procedural rules (known as standing orders) so that a vote on the division below could take place. This means that the vote will not happen.

Division text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Leader of the Opposition from moving the following motion immediately:

That the House:

(1) notes that:

(a) on the evening of 23 October 2019, The Guardian reported the Minister for Emissions Reduction had used incorrect figures from the City of Sydney Annual Report 2017-18 in a letter to the Lord Mayor of Sydney;

(b) on 24 October 2019, the Minister told the House "The document was drawn directly from the City of Sydney's website";

(c) despite the Minister's claim, all the evidence to date is that no such document ever existed on the website, the altered document has only ever been produced by the Minister's office and the doctored figures have only ever been used by the Minister in his official Ministerial correspondence;

(d) today, the NSW Police confirmed that it had launched Strike Force Garrad to investigate the matter; and

(e) paragraph 7.1 of the Ministerial Standards make clear that it is for the Prime Minister to stand aside a Minister if that Minister becomes the subject of an official investigation of alleged illegal conduct; and

(2) therefore, calls on the Prime Minister to do what only he can under the Ministerial Standards and immediately stand the Minister for Emissions Reduction down.

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Watson MP Tony Burke, which means it failed. The motion was to suspend the usual procedural rules of Parliament (known as standing orders) so that a vote could take place.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Manager of Opposition Business from moving the following motion immediately:

That the House:

(1) notes that:

(a) on the evening of 23 October 2019, the Guardian reported the Minister for Emissions Reduction had used incorrect figures from the City of Sydney Annual Report 2017-18 in a letter to the Lord Mayor of Sydney;

(b) the next day, the Minister told the House "The document was drawn directly from the City of Sydney's website";

(c) despite the Minister's claim, all the evidence to date is that no such document ever existed on the website, the altered document has only ever been produced by the Minister's office and the doctored figures have only ever been used by the Minister in his official ministerial correspondence; including:

(i) City of Sydney metadata which shows the Annual Report on its website has not been altered since it was published on 27 November 2018;

(ii) public archives which show the Annual Report published on the City of Sydney website contained the correct travel figures on 27 March, 20 April, 19 June and 24 October 2019;

(iii) a Daily Telegraph report that "Mr Taylor's office had sent The Daily Telegraph the altered document"; and

(iv) the draft letter the Minister's Department submitted to the Minister's office contained no travel figures at all; and

(d) deliberately misleading the Parliament is both a contempt of the Parliament and a breach of the Ministerial Standards; and

(2) therefore, calls on the Minister for Emissions Reduction to make a full and frank statement to the House before it rises tonight explaining how he has not deliberately misled the Parliament.

The majority voted against a motion to make an exception to the usual procedural rules (known as standing orders) so that a vote can happen. This means that the vote won't take place.

Motion text

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Manager of Opposition Business moving the following motion immediately:

That the House:

(1) notes the:

(a) Prime Minister's statement in the House on Monday this week that "Whether they're politicians, journalists, public officials, anyone—there is no-one in this country who is above the law";

(b) reported provision of a forged document to The Daily Telegraph by the Minister for Emissions Reduction in an attempt to influence the public duty of the Lord Mayor of Sydney;

(c) creation and/or knowing use of a forged document in an attempt to influence a public duty is a serious indictable offence under New South Wales law punishable by up to 10 years in prison;

(d) failure to report knowledge of a serious indictable offence is also an offence under New South Wales law punishable by up to two years in prison;

(e) Minister for Emissions Reduction has failed to explain his role in, or knowledge of, the creation and/or use of a forged document used in an attempt to influence the public duty of the Lord Mayor of Sydney; and

(f) Minister has refused to give straight answers to simple questions about these crimes, as if the public has no right to know; and

(2) having regard to the foregoing, calls on the Prime Minister to ask the New South Wales Police to investigate whether the Minister for Emissions Reduction has committed a crime.

The majority voted against a motion to suspend the usual parliamentary rules (known as standing orders) so that a vote can happen.

Motion text

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Leader of the Opposition from moving the following motion immediately:

That the House:

(1) notes that:

(a) the International Monetary Fund has slashed its growth forecast for the Australian economy for this year by almost 20 per cent;

(b) the downgrade to Australia's growth forecast by the International Monetary Fund is four times worse than the downgrade to advanced economies;

(c) the Government has consistently ignored growing evidence that the Australian economy is floundering, including:

(i) the slowest economic growth in a decade;

(ii) the worst wages growth on record;

(iii) a record 1.9 million Australians being unemployed or underemployed;

(iv) a decline in GDP per capita last year, with flat growth in the last quarter;

(v) record levels of household debt;

(vi) consumer confidence at a four-year low;

(vii) business confidence well below average; and

(viii) sluggish productivity growth;

(d) the International Monetary Fund has called on countries, including Australia, to provide fiscal support, saying "Monetary policy cannot be the only game in town and should be coupled with fiscal support where fiscal space is available"; and

(e) the Government has no plan to address Australia's floundering economy and continues to ignore calls from the Reserve Bank of Australia and the International Monetary Fund to provide fiscal support, including by investing in infrastructure; and

(2) therefore, calls on the Prime Minister to be straight with the Australian people about Australia's floundering economy and develop a plan to stimulate economic growth, including by bringing forward infrastructure investment across the nation including in regional and rural Australia.

The majority voted against a motion introduced by MP for Melbourne Adam Bandt (Greens), which means it failed. The purpose of this motion was to suspend the usual parliamentary rules (known as standing orders) so that another question could be put to the House.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the member for Melbourne from moving the following motion immediately—

That the House:

(1) declares an environment and climate emergency;

(2) recognises that:

(a) the recent report of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Special Report: Global Warming of 1.5 °C, indicates that we are facing a climate emergency, and as a result, meaningful action on climate change is urgent, at home and internationally;

(b) this IPCC report has found that the world is not on track to limit global warming to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius;

(c) at a national level, England, France, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and Canada have all declared a climate emergency; and

(d) unmitigated climate change will lead to a steep increase in the severity and frequency of extreme weather events that will devastate large parts of Australia and radically impact food production, water availability, public health, infrastructure, the community and the financial system; and

(3) notes that the Government has acknowledged urgent action is required to address climate change and calls on the Government to take urgent action consistent with avoiding catastrophic climate change, the goals of the Paris Agreement and internationally accepted science.

A large majority voted against the motion introduced by MP for Clark Andrew Wilkie (Independent), which means it failed. This motion was to suspend the usual parliamentary rules (known as standing orders) so that another vote could take place.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Clark from moving the following motion immediately—

That the House of Representatives calls on the Australian Government to establish a Royal Commission to inquire into and report on the Australian casino industry, with particular reference to:

(1) allegations of Crown Casino's links to organised domestic and foreign crime, money laundering, tampering with poker machines, domestic violence and drug trafficking, including but not limited to:

(a) the allegations concerning Crown, raised by the Member for Denison in the House of Representatives on 18 October 2017;

(b) the Member for Clark's referral of the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation, and Victoria Police, to the Victorian Independent Broad-based Anti-Corruption Commission on 24 July 2019;

(c) reports by Nine newspapers and 60 Minutes in July 2019 concerning alleged criminal activity involving Crown;

(d) the Member for Clark's referral of the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation to the Victorian Ombudsman on 13 August 2019;

(e) the Member for Clark's referral of Crown Perth to the Premier of Western Australia on 19 September 2019;

(f) the allegations of criminal activity provided by a driver formerly associated with Crown revealed by the Member for Clark in the House of Representatives on 30 July 2019, and again during a media event yesterday, including the failure to process inbound and outbound flights and passengers;

(g) the evidence of money laundering at Crown revealed by the ABC and the Member for Clark today;

(h) the response to these allegations, including the possibility of criminality, by relevant state and federal agencies including but not limited to the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation, Victoria Police, the Australian Federal Police, Border Force and the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre;

(i) the conduct of people associated directly with Crown, including the possibility of criminality and corruption; and

(j) the conduct of serving and former politicians and party officials especially relevant to Crown, including the possibility of criminality or corruption.

(2) the performance of relevant federal agencies regarding the operation of Australian casinos generally including but not limited to the Australian Federal Police, Border Force and the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre.

(3) the conduct of Australian casino owners, board members and staff generally;

(4) the conduct of serving and former politicians and party officials regarding Australian casinos generally; and

(5) any related matters.

The majority voted against suspending the usual procedural orders so that Watson MP Tony Burke (Labor) could move a motion (see below). In parliamentary jargon, they voted to suspend the standing orders.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Watson from moving the following motion immediately—That the House calls on the Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction to immediately make a statement to the House for a period not exceeding 20 minutes explaining:

(1) why he met with Department of the Environment and Energy officials and the office of the then Minister for the Environment and Energy, and now Treasurer, in March 2017 to discuss the listing of a critically endangered grasslands while the department was investigating the alleged poisoning of the same grasslands on land he part-owned;

(2) why, and how, an officer from the compliance unit of the department responsible for the investigation was present at the March 2017 meeting;

(3) why, following the meeting, the office of the then Minister for Environment and Energy asked for advice on whether he could vary the relevant listing without the advice of the Threatened Species Scientific Committee, whether he could act against the Committee's advice and whether he could keep the reasons for the variation secret;

(4) why, despite stating that his interest in Jam Land Pty Ltd was declared in accordance with the rules, he has failed to list his indirect interest in Jam Land Pty Ltd on his Member's Statement of Registrable Interests;

(5) what declarations, if any, the Minister has made to the Department of the Environment and Energy, the office of the then Minister for the Environment and Energy and the Prime Minister about his interest in the land subject to a compliance investigation by the Department of the Environment and Energy; and

(6) how his conduct is consistent with the Statement of Ministerial Standards.

The majority voted against suspending the usual procedural rules (known as standing orders) so that MP for Rankin Jim Chalmers can move his motion.

Motion text

That so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent the member for Rankin from moving the following motion immediately:

That the House:

(1) notes that:

(a) the Member for Hughes has called for the family home to be included in the pension assets test, meaning more retirees will be pushed off the pension, out of their homes or both;

(b) twelve members of the Government have now called for changes to the legislated increase to the superannuation guarantee;

(c) the Government has already short-changed pensioners by refusing to properly adjust deeming rates for years despite five interest rate cuts;

(d) the Government made a deal with the Greens to change the pension asset test, which meant that the pension was cut for 370,000 pensioners, with 88,000 losing their pension altogether;

(e) the Government tried to scrap the Energy Supplement for years, meaning 1.5 million pensioners would have had their payments cut;

(f) the Government has repeatedly sought to raise the pension age to 70;

(g) the Government tried to cut pension indexation in the 2014 Budget, which would have forced pensioners to live on $80 a week less within ten years; and

(h) the Government cut $1 billion from pensioner concessions in the 2014 Budget; and

(2) therefore, condemns the Government for undermining the retirement incomes of millions of Australians.

The majority voted against a motion introduced by the MP for Watson Tony Burke (Labor), which means it failed.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Watson from moving the following motion forthwith:

That the House:

(1) notes that:

(a) today, the Prime Minister provided a letter to the Senate and the House from his departmental secretary relating to the inquiry into the compliance of former ministers Christopher Pyne and Julie Bishop with the Ministerial Standards;

(b) the letter advised the Prime Minister that Ms Bishop told the secretary she had no contact with Palladium as Minister for Foreign Affairs;

(c) Ms Bishop appeared in a video filmed in her ministerial office and published on Palladium's FaceBook page on 9 June 2017 titled "Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop commends Shared Value and Palladium's Business Partnership Platform";

(d) during the period Ms Bishop was Minister for Foreign Affairs the company Palladium and its related entities entered into contracts with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade valued at over $600 million;

(e) the integrity of this Government is linked to the observance and enforcement of the Ministerial Standards; and

(f) unanswered questions remain in relation to the relationship between Ms Bishop and the departmental contractor on whose board she now sits and the rigour of the inquiry by the Prime Minister's departmental secretary; and

(2) therefore, calls on the Prime Minister to direct his departmental secretary to re-open his inquiry into former Minister Bishop.

The majority voted against a motion introduced by McMahon MP Chris Bowen (ALP), which means it failed.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the member for McMahon moving the following motion immediately:

That the House notes that:

(1) after six years of cuts and chaos under this Liberal government, Australia is doing it tough;

(b) in last night's budget, the Treasurer delivered an energy payment which left out thousands of Australians who rely on government payments, including Abstudy, Austudy, double orphan pension, Newstart allowance, parenting payment partnered, partner allowance, sickness allowance, special benefit, widow allowance, wife pension, youth allowance and veteran payment;

(c) on radio this morning, less than 24 hours after he delivered his budget, the Treasurer caved in to pressure from Labor and back flipped, saying that Australians on Newstart will now receive the energy supplement;

(d) in just a few minutes, the government will introduce legislation that now extends the payment to all the people the government had previously left out in its budget;

(e) the government's backflip has already blown an $80 million hole in the budget; and

(f) the government's budget is unravelling less than 24 hours after it was delivered; and

(2) therefore condemns this government for:

(a) six years of cuts and chaos, which has only continued in the last 24 hours; and

(b) only looking after the top end of town and treating vulnerable Australians as an afterthought.

The majority voted against a motion to suspend the usual procedural rules (known as standing orders) to let a vote happen.

Motion text

That so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent the member for Kennedy from moving the following motion immediately:

That the House:

(1)notes that:

(a)it was the National Party which deregulated the dairy industry taking the farmers income from 59c a litre down to 41c a litre;

(b)at the announcement of deregulation there were over 230 dairy farmers on the Atherton Tablelands, now there are 51;

(c)neither the ALP or LNP will introduce arbitration for farmers;

(d)for supply and demand in the free market to work there must be an unlimited number of sellers and buyers; and

(e)dairy farmers in North Queensland have only one processor to sell to and in the whole of Australia effectively only two buyers of milk—the supermarket duopoly; and

(2)therefore, condemns both sides of politics in creating misery and heartache where dairy farmers are the victims of the free market 'fundamentalists' in this House.

The majority voted against a motion to suspend the usual procedural rules (known as standing orders) to let a vote happen.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent Member for Hunter from moving the following motion forthwith—That the House:

(1) notes that:

(a) this Government is telling Australians to boycott milk produced by Australia's dairy farmers; and

(b) Australia is now the only country in the world with a Government that is telling consumers to boycott its own nation's produce; and

(2) therefore, condemns this Government for hurting Australian farmers when they are already doing it tough.

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Rankin MP Jim Chalmers (Labor), which means MP Chalmers won't be able to introduce the motion he wanted as set out below.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the member for Rankin from moving the following motion forthwith:

That the House:

(1) notes that:

(a) yesterday, it was revealed the Finance Minister received free flights to Singapore from Helloworld, which he booked by calling the CEO of this ASX listed company directly, just before it was awarded a multimillion dollar whole-of-government contract by the Minister's own Department;

(b) today, it's been reported that US Ambassador Joe Hockey—who has a million dollar shareholding in Helloworld – helped a Helloworld subsidiary lobby for the Embassy's travel contract;

(c) the CEO of Helloworld and one of its largest shareholders Andrew Burnes is a Liberal Party heavyweight and current Liberal Party Treasurer, with connections to a number of Liberal Party politicians;

(d) the Finance Minister told Senate Estimates yesterday that he had 'a close personal relationship' with Mr Burnes;

(e) Mr Burnes was previously a colleague of the now Prime Minister during the Prime Minister's time at Tourism Australia;

(f) since being awarded Government contracts, the share price of Helloworld has skyrocketed, making shareholders like Mr Hockey and Mr Burnes rich; and

(g) this morning, it was reported that the Herald Sun asked almost all of the 82 Liberal MPs in Parliament whether they had received free travel from Helloworld, but only 14 said they had not; and

(2) therefore, calls on the Prime Minister to investigate and report to the House how far this Helloworld scandal reaches into his Government.

The majority voted against a motion to suspend the usual rules (known as standing orders) to let a vote happen. It was introduced by Labor Senator Chris Bowen, meaning it failed.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for McMahon from moving the following motion immediately—

That the House:

(1) notes:

(a) the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Governments have failed to provide a consistent energy policy for Australia;

(b) that the Government has embraced respectively, before each policy was abandoned:

(i) an emissions intensity scheme;

(ii) a clean energy target;

(iii) at least six different versions of the national energy guarantee; and

(iv) three different versions of divestment just this week,

(c) the Government's most recent attempt at forced divestment policy has been panned by experts as increasing sovereign risk, chilling investment and putting upward pressure on power prices;

(d) that the divestment policy had to be completely rewritten to remove the power to order divestiture from the Treasurer to the courts;

(e) that the legislation tabled by the Treasurer yesterday allows for the privatisation of energy assets if divestiture is forced in relation to a government owned asset;

(f) that the Treasurer and other Government ministers have continually denied this is the case despite the legislation being clear on this point;

(g) that the Member for Kennedy has moved an amendment, seconded by the Member for Dawson, which seeks to ban privatisations as part of a divestiture process, which confirms that the current bill does not; and

(2) condemns the Government for their complete failure in energy policy, their botched divestiture policy and for seeking privatisation by stealth.

The majority voted against a motion moved by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition Tanya Plibersek, which means it failed.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Sydney from moving the following motion immediately—That the House:

(1) notes that the:

(a) Member for Hughes has threatened to quit the Government and move to the crossbench unless his Liberal Party preselection is protected;

(b) Prime Minister is tearing the Government apart to protect the Member for Hughes but did nothing to protect the Member for Ryan, the Member for Gilmore, Senator Gichuhi or the Member for Chisholm; and

(c) Minister for Women has said the Liberal Party is widely seen as "Homophobic, anti-women, climate change deniers"; and

(2) therefore, reprimands the Prime Minister for only ever protecting the men in his party and abandoning its women.

The majority voted against a motion to suspend the usual procedural rules (known as standing orders) to let a vote happen.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Leader of the Opposition from moving the following motion immediately:

That the House:

1. notes that since moving on Malcolm Turnbull, the Government has:

a. cancelled Parliament because it couldn't decide who was Prime Minister;

b. lost two Government Members, with at least one more on the way;

c. been forced into minority Government, which the Government previously said would create uncertainty in our economy and instability for the country;

d. created the first part-time Parliament in the history of Federation by scheduling just 10 sitting days in eight months;

e. cancelled the Treasurer's trip to the G20;

f. voted for a National Integrity Commission even though it doesn't support one;

g. voted against tougher 15 year jail sentences for corporate criminals;

h. abandoned the National Energy Guarantee – a policy which was designed by the Treasurer, which the Prime Minister promised would lead to lower electricity prices, and which the Member for Curtin still supports;

i. been described by the Minister for Women as "homophobic, anti-women, climate-change deniers"; and

j. been described by its own Prime Minister as "The Muppet Show"; and

2. therefore calls on this ramshackle, reactionary Government to stop fighting itself and start focussing on the needs of the Australian people.

The same number of representatives voted for and against the motion. As the Speaker explained:

As members would be aware, in these circumstances I issue a casting vote. Normally that vote, according to the principles, would be that the motion doesn't have a majority and the status quo remains, but I think, in line with earlier precedents, I won't exercise a casting vote because the motion is to suspend standing orders and it fails because it doesn't have an absolute majority. So we'll just declare it lost.

In other words, the motion did not succeed as it couldn't reach majority

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Watson from moving the following motion immediately—That the House:

(1) notes:

(a) in the House today, the Environment Minister categorically denied reports that last night she said to the former President of Kiribati "I know why you're here. It is for the cash. For the Pacific it's always about the cash. I have my cheque book here. How much do you want?";

(b) however, multiple sources have confirmed to journalists that the Minister did in fact say those words;

(c) the Minister also told the House today during Question Time that only "a small amount of money" could be spent on administration under the Government's almost half a billion dollar Great Barrier Reef grant and that administration costs were capped at five per cent;

(d) however, under the Government's grant agreement up to 10 per cent of the entire grant can be spent on administration by the Foundation itself and a further 10 per cent of any grant money provided to subcontractors can be spent on administration as well, which means that more than $80 million can be spent on administration; and

(e) immediately before providing this incorrect information, the Minister was handed a note by the Prime Minister which she appeared to rely on during her answer when she falsely claimed that administration costs were capped at five per cent—an amount $60 million lower than what is the case; and

(2) therefore, calls on the Environment Minister to:

(a) attend the House to correct her answers as she is required to do under the Prime Minister's Ministerial Standards; and

(b) advise the House whether any of the incorrect information she provided was as a result of the note handed to her by the Prime Minister.

The majority voted against a motion, which means it failed.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Watson from moving t he following motion immediately:

That the House rejects the resolution put to the Senate yesterday which included a white supremacist slogan that is also used by hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan.

The majority voted against a motion to suspend the usual procedural rules of Parliament (known as standing orders) to let a vote take place, which means the vote won't happen.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Melbourne from moving—That this House has no confidence in the Minister for Home Affairs.

The majority voted against a motion to suspend the rules to allow a vote to happen, which means the vote doesn't take place. In parliamentary jargon, they voted against suspending standing and sessional orders.

The majority voted against a motion to suspend the usual rules to let a vote happen, which means the vote won't take place. In parliamentary jargon, they voted against suspending the standing orders.

The majority voted against a motion to suspend the usual rules (known as standing orders) to let a vote happen, which means the vote will not take place.

Motion text

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Manager of Opposition Business from moving the following motion immediately:

That the House

(1) notes that

(a) gross debt has grown to a record half a trillion dollars under this government;

(b) last night, in an act of gross incompetence, this government teamed up with Senator Pauline Hanson's One Nation to vote to support a bill which abolished all income tax rates from 2024. This is the latest act from a government consumed by chaos and incompetence which has outsourced all economic policy to Pauline Hanson's One Nation;

(c) for years One Nation has advocated flat tax. Last night the government adopted this policy and set the rate at zero;

(d) the government has also dealt with bracket creep by abolishing every single tax bracket; and

(e) the bill which was supported last night at the third reading stage by the government and One Nation will open up a budget black hole of $240 billion every single year once implemented; and

(2) condemns this government for its gross economic incompetence.

The majority voted against a motion to suspend the usual parliamentary rules (known as standing orders) to allow a vote to happen, which means the vote will not occur.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Watson from moving the following motion forthwith—That the House:

(1) notes it has been revealed today that the Government has made a secret deal with Senator Pauline Hanson’s One Nation Party to give an $80 billion handout to big business but the Prime Minister won’t tell the Australian people:

(a) the details of its secret deal;

(b) the cost of its secret deal; and

(c) if its secret deal is even accounted for in the Budget;

(2) further notes that since Senator Pauline Hanson returned to the Australian Parliament, and without notice to the Australian people at the last election, this Government has:

(a) attempted to weaken race hate laws;

(b) attempted to introduce a university-level English test for citizenship; and

(c) refused to commit to putting One Nation last; and

(3) therefore, calls on this Prime Minister to stop making secret deals with One Nation and join Labor in putting One Nation last.

The majority voted against letting a vote happen. In parliamentary jargon, they voted against suspending standing orders (the procedural rules of Parliament) so that Labor MP Chris Bowen could move a particular motion. Since this vote was unsuccessful, Mr Bowen was not able to proceed with his motion.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for McMahon from moving the following motion forthwith—That the House:

(1) notes:

(a) before coming to office, the Coalition railed about a debt and deficit disaster;

(b) global economic conditions are the best they've been in years, with the International Monetary Fund stating "120 economies, accounting for three quarters of world GDP, have seen a pickup in growth in year-on-year terms in 2017, the broadest synchronized global growth upsurge since 2010";

(c) since this conservative Government came to office gross debt has increased to a record half a trillion dollars and is expected to be even higher in tonight's Budget with no peak in sight;

(d) net debt has doubled and is growing as a proportion of the economy more rapidly than almost every other advanced economy; and

(e) last night on 7.30, former Howard Government Treasurer, Peter Costello, said that he would be dead before the Government paid back its debt; and

(2) therefore, condemns this conservative Government for giving up on Budget repair and for its failure to address the long-term structural problems in the Budget.

The majority voted in favour of a motion to suspend standing orders. In other words, they voted in favour of allowing a vote to happen even though parliamentary rules would ordinarily stop it.

About the bill

The purpose of the bill is to:

progressively extend the lower 27.5 per cent corporate tax rate to all corporate tax entities by the 2023-24 financial year; and further reduce the corporate tax rate in stages so that by the 2026 27 financial year, the corporate tax rate for all entities will be 25 per cent

Read more in the bills digest.

The majority voted against a motion to suspend the rules (known as standing orders) to allow a vote to happen. The motion was introduced by Labor MP Tony Burke.

Motion text

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Manager of Opposition Business from moving immediately:

That the House:

(1) notes:

(a) yesterday morning, the media aired an allegation the Employment Minister's Office had leaked the raids, which allowed television crews to turn up to the raids before the police did;

(b) by midday yesterday, the Employment Minister had five times denied that her office had been involved in leaking the raids;

(c) at the Prime Minister's Question Time briefing yesterday, attended by the Employment Minister and the Senior Media Adviser who has now resigned for leaking the raids, the Prime Minister, according to the Government's account, failed to ask a single question about the involvement of the Minister's office in leaking the raids;

(d) at 6.10 pm, Alice Workman of Buzzfeed reported that journalists received a leak about the raids from the Employment Minister's office before the raids began;

(e) at 7.30 pm, after the truth had been exposed, only then did the Employment Minister finally admit that she had misled the Senate on five separate occasions; and

(f) during the utegate scandal, the now Prime Minister himself said that misleading the Parliament "is an offence that should result in the dismissal or resignation of a Minister. It is perfectly clear"; and

(2) therefore, calls on the Prime Minister to:

(a) sack the Employment Minister for breaching Ministerial Standards by repeatedly misleading the Senate; and

(b) explain to the House his involvement, his office's involvement and his Government's involvement in this serious matter where the publicly stated version of events doesn’t add up.

The majority voted in favour of a motion:

"That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the motion for the third reading being moved without delay."

In other words, they voted to suspend the rules to let them vote on whether to pass the bill now rather than having to wait until later.

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Labor MP for Watson Tony Burke to suspend the rules (known as standing orders) to let a vote happen. This means the motion failed.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Watson from moving the following motion immediately:

The House:

(1) notes:

(a) yesterday, it was revealed the Australian Federal Police (AFP) did not have the resources to investigate the importation of 1.6 tonnes of cocaine;

(b) on the very same day, the Prime Minister’s Registered Organisations Commission sent at least 25 AFP officers to look at a 10-year-old donation to GetUp;

(c) in so doing, this Government diverted police resources needed to fight drug syndicates to protect his own political interests; and

(d) that this is just the latest example of this Prime Minister’s willingness to abuse his power and debase the Office of Prime Minister; and

(2) therefore, condemns this born-to-rule Prime Minister for his grubby attacks and blatant abuses of power designed to protect his own political interests instead of protecting Australians.

The majority voted against a motion to let a vote on the Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce happen. In parliamentary jargon, they voted against a motion to suspend standing and sessional orders.

This motion was made in the context of the revelation that MP Joyce is a New Zealand citizen.

Motion text

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Manager of Opposition Business from moving the following motion immediately—

The House:

(1) notes:

(a) this House has unanimously asked the High Court to determine if the Deputy Prime Minister was ever validly elected to Parliament;

(b) the Government refuses to release the Solicitor-General’s advice on which the entire legitimacy of this Government rests;

(c) the Government refuses to even state whether it has sought advice on the risk to a legal challenge to the Deputy Prime Minister’s ministerial decisions;

(d) significant ministerial decisions of the Deputy Prime Minister are being delayed, including decisions which would bring power prices down for Australians; and

(e) despite the current doubts over the legality of the Deputy Prime Minister’s ministerial actions, tomorrow the Prime Minister will risk the entire legitimacy of the Government by leaving the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of the nation; and

(2) therefore, calls on the Prime Minister to:

(a) direct his Deputy Prime Minister to immediately stand aside; and

(b) stop abusing the trust of the Australian people by being so reckless with the leadership of the nation.

The majority voted against letting a vote happen. In parliamentary jargon, they voted against suspending standing orders.

The motion related to the fact that the Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce is a New Zealand citizen.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Watson from moving the following motion immediately—The House calls on the Deputy Prime Minister to stand aside from Cabinet until doubts about his constitutional qualifications have been resolved.

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Watson MP Tony Burke (Labor), which means it failed.

Motion text

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Watson from moving the following motion forthwith—

That the House calls on the Prime Minister to immediately stand aside the Deputy Prime Minister from Cabinet until his constitutional qualifications have been determined by the High Court.

The majority voted against a motion to let a vote on Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce's New Zealand citizenship happen.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Watson from moving the following motion immediately—

That the House:

(1) notes:

(a) this House has unanimously asked the High Court to determine whether the Deputy Prime Minister is constitutionally qualified to be a Member of parliament and thereby to determine if the Government has a majority;

(b) the Deputy Prime Minister has admitted he was a citizen of a foreign power right up until the weekend and has already started campaigning for the New England by-election;

(c) former Minister Matt Canavan has resigned from Cabinet and will not vote in the Senate until the High Court resolves doubts about his constitutional qualifications;

(d) the Prime Minister is continuing to accept the Deputy Prime Minister’s vote in this House even though it means that victims of the banks are denied the Royal Commission they’ve been calling for and Australians continue to have their penalty rates cut; and

(e) the situation with his Deputy Prime Minister is unsustainable; and

(2) therefore, calls on the Prime Minister to:

(a) admit his continued reliance on the Deputy Prime Minister’s vote is causing real harm to the people of Australia;

(b) rule out accepting the vote of the Deputy Prime Minister while his constitutional qualifications are in doubt; and

(c) direct the Deputy Prime Minister to immediately resign from Cabinet.

The majority voted against a motion to let a vote on Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce's New Zealand citizenship happen.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Watson from moving the following motion forthwith—

That the House:

(1) notes:

(a) on Monday, this House unanimously asked the High Court to determine whether the Deputy Prime Minister is constitutionally qualified to be a Member of Parliament;

(b) on Tuesday, the Deputy Prime Minister admitted he had been a citizen of a foreign power right up until the weekend;

(c) former Minister Matt Canavan has resigned from Cabinet and will not vote in the Senate until the High Court resolves doubts about his constitutional qualifications to be a Member of Parliament;

(d) yesterday, the Foreign Minister refused to accept that the conservative New Zealand Internal Affairs Minister was telling the truth; and

(e) this morning, on Sky News, the Foreign Minister refused to answer whether she could now work with a future New Zealand Government; and

(2) therefore, calls on the Prime Minister to:

(a) stop trashing Australia's international relations in order to distract from the crisis the Government is facing;

(b) rule out accepting the vote of the Deputy Prime Minister while his constitutional qualifications are in doubt; and

(c) direct the Deputy Prime Minister to immediately resign from Cabinet.

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Watson MP Tony Burke (Labor), whcih means it failed.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Watson from moving the following motion forthwith:

That the House:

(1) notes:

(a) yesterday, this House unanimously asked the High Court to determine whether the Deputy Prime Minister is constitutionally qualified to be a Member of Parliament;

(b) yesterday, the Prime Minister claimed "The Deputy Prime Minister, is qualified to sit in this House, and the High Court will so hold" despite confirmation from the Prime Minister of New Zealand that the Deputy Prime Minister is in fact a New Zealand citizen; and

(c) today in Question Time, the Deputy Prime Minister confirmed he was a citizen of a foreign power prior to the weekend; and

(2) therefore, calls on the Prime Minister to;

(a) come clean with the Australian people and acknowledge that the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia is ineligible to hold office;

(b) rule out accepting the vote of the Deputy Prime Minister while his constitutional qualifications are in doubt; and

(c) direct the Deputy Prime Minister to immediately resign from Cabinet.

The majority voted in favour of a motion to suspend the usual parliamentary rules (known as standing orders) to allow a vote to happen. In parliamentary jargon, they voted:

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the motion for the third reading being moved without delay.

This means that they can now vote on whether they want to pass the bill.

The majority voted against a motion to let a vote happen. In parliamentary jargon, they voted against suspending the standing orders, which are the procedural rules of Parliament.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the member for Watson from moving the following motion forthwith—

That the House:

(1) notes:

(a) today, this House unanimously asked the High Court to determine whether the Deputy Prime Minister is constitutionally qualified to be a Member of Parliament;

(b) the New Zealand Government has since confirmed that the Deputy Prime Minister is a New Zealand citizen despite the Prime Minister's assurance on this matter;

(c) the Government has relied on the vote of the Deputy Prime Minister to block a Royal Commission into the banks and to block amendments to legislation which would have stopped nearly 700,000 Australians from having their penalty rates cut; and

(d) the former Minister for Resources and Northern Australia resigned from Cabinet because there were doubts over his constitutional qualifications; and

(2) therefore, calls on the Prime Minister to:

(a) release any legal advice it has received about the constitutional qualifications of the Deputy Prime Minister;

(b) rule out accepting the vote of the Deputy Prime Minister while his constitutional qualifications are in doubt; and

(c) direct the Deputy Prime Minister to immediately resign from Cabinet.

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Labor MP for Gorton Brendan O'Connor, which means the motion failed. The motion asked for the parliamentary rules to be suspended to let MP O'Connor move a motion related to workplace relations. Since it wasn't successful, he can't introduce that motion.

Motion text

That so much of standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the member for Gorton from moving the following motion forthwith:

That the House:

(1) notes:

(a) the horrific cases of exploitation in workplaces around the country, including at 7-Eleven;

(b) a bill to protect workers from this exploitation has passed the House and is before the Senate right now;

(c) the Prime Minister reportedly has a financial interest in 7-Eleven;

(d) the former Minister for Small Business, Bruce Billson, has reportedly lobbied to water down this bill;

(e) the Government is now reportedly seeking to delay this long overdue bill until August - two years after worker exploitation at 7-Eleven was first exposed; and

(f) any further delay to this bill would deny important protection to workers from exploitation; and

(2) therefore, calls on the Prime Minister to commit to this House that this important bill to protect workers from exploitation will be passed through both Houses of Parliament before the winter adjournment.

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten, which means it was unsuccessful.

Although his motion was about the changes to the Racial Discrimination Act, the vote itself was actually on whether to let Mr Shorten MP put his motion to the vote, not on the motion itself.

The parliamentary rules (known as standing and sessional orders) don't let MPs introduce and vote on motions whenever they want to. Sometimes, they have to ask to suspend the rules to let a particular vote happen. This is what Mr Shorten MP was doing here, but he was unsuccessful.

Motion text

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Leader of the Opposition from moving the following motion forthwith—That the House:

(1) notes:

(a) the Prime Minister has confirmed that his laws to water down protections against racist hate speech will be introduced into the Senate instead of the House of Representatives;

(b) this is nothing more than a cynical attempt by the Prime Minister to be able to claim to the extreme elements in his party room that his Government is taking action on section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act while hoping MPs in this Chamber can avoid having to vote on the issue; and

(c) Members of Parliament should not say one thing in Canberra but another thing to the voters in their electorates;

(2) resolves to deal with this issue today;

(3) affirms there should be no weakening of the Racial Discrimination Act by giving licence to racist hate speech; and

(4) therefore, resolves to retain section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act in its current form.

Tony Burke wanted to move the following motion:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Manager of Opposition Business from moving the following motion forthwith:

That the House:

1. notes that:

(a) yesterday, the Government introduced legislation amending the Native Title Act;

(b) the Government has had six months notice that legislation of this type might be required and has taken no action until this week; and

(c) the Leader of the House has given notice of his intention to force this bill through all stages of debate before 2 pm today;

1. affirms the effect of the Government's approach means that Members of the House will be compelled to vote on a change to the Native Title Act without having had a chance to conduct any consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities;

2. condemns the Prime Minister for condoning a failure to consult with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in the same week where he quoted the words of Chris Sarra "Do things with us, not to us"; and

3. calls on the Government to abandon this approach and allow time for proper consultation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

The majority voted against a motion introduced by McMahon MP Chris Bowen (Labor), which means it failed.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for McMahon from moving the following motion forthwith—

That the House:

(1) notes that:

(a) ordinary Australians are being locked out of the housing market, with only one in seven homes in Australia now purchased by first home buyers;

(b) the national housing affordability crisis has worsened over the last year with house prices increasing by 16 per cent in Sydney and 12 per cent in Melbourne;

(c) the Prime Minister has worsened the housing affordability crisis by:

(i) failing to appoint a Minister for Housing;

(ii) abolishing the National Housing Supply Council;

(iii) shutting down the National Rental Affordability Scheme;

(iv) cutting funding for homelessness services; and

(v) refusing to reform Australia’s generous tax concessions that favour property investors over first home buyers; and

(d) today is the one-year anniversary of Labor’s plan to improve housing affordability by reforming negative gearing and capital gains tax – reforms which have been criticised by the Government despite the fact the Treasurer has previously argued there were “excesses” in negative gearing; and

(2) therefore, calls on the Prime Minister to act on housing affordability by adopting Labor’s plan to reform negative gearing and capital gains tax.

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Watson MP Tony Burke (Labor), which means it failed.

Motion text

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Manager of Opposition Business from moving the following motion forthwith:

That the House:

(1) Notes that on the backpacker tax the Prime Minister has:

(a) gone from zero per cent to 32.5 per cent;

(b) to 19 per cent;

(c) threatened 32.5 per cent;

(d) then to 15 per cent;

(e) threatened 32.5 per cent again; and

(f) been unwilling to accept the sensible compromise put forward by the Labor Party; and

(2) therefore, condemns the Prime Minister for preferring to hurt rural and regional Australia and the tourism industry with a 32.5 per cent tax rate instead of accepting a sensible compromise.

The majority voted against a motion introduced by McMahon MP Chris Bowen (Labor), which means it failed.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the member for McMahon from moving the following motion forthwith.

That the House:

(1) notes that:

(a) in the Budget, the Government blindsided rural and regional Australia with an internationally uncompetitive 32.5 per cent backpacker tax;

(b) the Government dropped the rate of the backpacker tax to a still uncompetitive rate of 19 per cent;

(c) the Government again shifted the rate of the backpacker tax to 15 per cent because of a desperate deal in the Senate;

(d) the Government's desperate deal was rejected by the Senate which instead proposed a compromise of 10.5 per cent;

(e) the Government has refused to accept the Senate's sensible compromise, threatening to allow the backpacker tax to revert to its original internationally uncompetitive rate of 32.5 per cent which will harm the tourism, hospitality and agricultural industries; and

(f) only this morning, the Minister for Finance said "The deal that is on the table for the Senate is a 15 per cent rate; if it's not 15 per cent then it will be 32.5 per cent";

(2) calls on the Government to end the chaos and deal with the backpacker tax immediately by accepting the sensible compromise offered by the Senate; and

(3) therefore, suspends so much of the standing and sessional orders as would prevent order of the day No. 3 relating to the Income Tax Rates Amendment (Working Holiday Maker Reform) Bill 2016 being called on immediately.

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Watson MP Tony Burke (Labor), which means it failed.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders and session orders be suspended as would prevent the Manager of Opposition Business from moving the following motion forthwith:

That the House:

(1) notes:

(a) revelations the Attorney-General acted against the interests of the Commonwealth by entering into a corrupt deal to give $300 million of taxpayer funds to the WA Liberal Government;

(b) the Attorney-General made this decision despite clear legal advice that the $300 million rightfully belonged to the Australian taxpayer;

(c) further revelations that other Ministers in the Prime Minister’s Cabinet have been implicated in this scandal, including the:

(i) Minister for Revenue who was named in the WA Parliament for her involvement in the scandal when she was Assistant Treasurer;

(ii) Minister for Social Services who was named in the WA Parliament for his involvement in the scandal while he was Assistant Minister to the now former Prime Minister and Member for Warringah; and

(iii) Treasurer and the Minister for Finance who have direct portfolio interest and who have not yet explained their involvement in the scandal; and

(2) therefore, calls on the Minister representing the Attorney-General, the Minister for Revenue, the Minister for Social Services, the Treasurer and the Prime Minister to attend the House and provide a full account of their offices’ involvement in this scandal.

The majority voted against suspending standing orders so that Labor MP Tony Burke could move a motion.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Watson from moving the following motion forthwith:

That the House:

(1) notes that:

(a) the Senate is today sitting while it remains unclear which Senators were validly elected under the Constitution; and

(b) the Government has not revealed how long it has known there were questions over the validity of the composition of the Senate and why it has kept this information secret from the Australian people;

(2) therefore, calls on the Prime Minister to immediately attend the Chamber to provide a full and honest account of the Government’s knowledge and involvement of the potential constitutional issues concerning the composition of the Senate;

(3) notes the chaos in the Senate has today extended to the House of Representatives, when for the first time a Government MP has seconded a private Members’ motion which condemned the Government for “short changing Australian pensioners”;

(4) congratulates the Member for Wright in joining the Minister for Revenue and the Minister for Justice in their willingness to condemn the Turnbull Government on the floor of the House; and

(5) condemns the Government for its failure to manage the Parliament where every week there is a new stumble in the House and we now know the Senate has been sitting with a cloud over whether its composition is valid under the Australian Constitution.

The majority voted against a suspending the normal rules of Parliament to let Labor MP Tony Burke move a motion criticising the government and Prime Minister.

This means that MP Burke won't be able to introduce his motion.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the member for Watson from moving the following motion forthwith—

That the House:

(1) notes that today the Prime Minister has openly contradicted the claims of the former Prime Minister on the guns for votes scandal;

(2) notes that in the first 15 sitting days of the 45th Parliament:

(a) the Government became the first majority Government in more than 50 years to lose control of the House of Representatives;

(b) the Treasurer introduced legislation containing a $107 million black hole;

(c) the Senate ran out of legislation to debate;

(d) for the first time in Federation, a Government voted to condemn itself;

(e) the former Prime Minister outflanked the current Prime Minister on his left and his right;

(f) the Prime Minister was rolled by his extreme right-wing on issue after issue;

(g) the Prime Minister condoned an Attorney-General who had misled the Parliament;

(h) the Health Department refused to endorse the Prime Minister's absolute guarantee on the cost of seeing a doctor; and

(i) the Government considered trading guns for votes; and

(3) therefore, censures the Prime Minister for 15 sitting days of unprecedented chaos from a Government in disarray.

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten, which means it was unsuccessful.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Maribyrnong from moving the following motion forthwith—That:

(1) the House notes that:

(a) this morning, there are reports the Prime Minister will do a deal on gun laws to pass the Abbott Government's industrial relations bills; and

(b) the Prime Minister has on at least five occasions just this morning refused to rule out trading away John Howard's gun laws to pass the Abbott Government's industrial relations bills; and

(2) therefore, the House resolves that it will never put the safety of Australians at risk by trading away John Howard's gun laws to pursue an Abbott Government attack on workers.

Motion text

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Leader of the Opposition moving the following motion forthwith—That the House condemns the coalition government for being willing to trade John Howard's gun laws for votes in the Senate.

The majority voted in favour of a motion to suspend the parliamentary rules so that the House can decide whether or not to pass the bill right away (rather than having to wait).

In parliamentary jargon, they voted to suspend standing orders so that they could vote on a motion to give the bill a third reading immediately.

What is this bill all about?

The bill is part of a package of four bills. It makes changes like:

• lowering the visa application charge from $440 to $390;
• making employers register visa holders who work for them with the Commissioner of Taxation, which lets them to withhold tax at applicable income tax rates;
• letting the Commissioner disclose certain information to the Fair Work Ombudsman;
• requiring the Commissioner to make an annual report on working holiday makers to give the Treasurer.

Together, the bills change the tax arrangement for working holiday visa holders. If passed, they will mean that visa holders will be taxed from the first dollar earned, rather than having the usual tax free threshold.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the motion for the third reading being moved without delay.

The majority voted in favour of a motion to suspend standing orders so that they could vote on whether to pass the bill immediately.

Because the motion passed, they could immediately vote on whether to pass the bill. In parliamentary jargon, they could vote to read the bill for a third time.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the motion for the third reading being moved without delay.

The majority voted against a motion to suspend the procedural rules (known as the standing orders) so that Labor MP Chris Bowen (the Member for McMahon) could introduce a motion for House of Representatives to vote on.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the member for McMahon from moving the following motion forthwith:

(1) notes that in an extraordinary interview with David Speers on Sky News this morning:

(a) the Prime Minister said that Treasury “has not identified the dollar cost” of the centrepiece of his Budget, the 10-year tax cut for big business:

(i) but a moment later, the Prime Minister said Treasury had modelled the cost; and

(ii) yet later, the Prime Minister said the cost of his centrepiece 10-year tax cut for big business was outlined on page 3-11 of Budget Paper No. 1 despite the fact, that page does not mention companies or corporations or small businesses even once; and

(b) the Prime Minister said the $55 billion cost of his centrepiece 10-year tax cut for big business nominated by economist Chris Richardson “may well be right”;

(2) condemns the Prime Minister for delivering a Budget which is a fraud on the Australian people by having a centrepiece without a cost attached; and

(3) calls on the Prime Minister to attend the House to finally come clean about the 10-year cost for the 10-year tax cut for big business.

The majority voted against a motion to suspend standing orders to let Labor MP Anthony Albanese to move a motion related to his bill, the High Speed Rail Planning Authority Bill 2016.

Albanese MP wanted to speed up discussion on his bill so that it didn't lapse due to Parliament dissolving and the approaching election. However, since this motion was unsuccessful, it seems likely that the bill will now lapse (as indeed happened).

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Grayndler from moving the following motion forthwith—That private Members' business No. 1 relating to the High Speed Rail Planning Authority Bill 2016, standing in the name of the Member for Grayndler, being called on immediately and being given priority over all other business for passage through all stages.

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten to suspend standing orders.

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Maribyrnong from moving the following motion forthwith—

That the House:

(1) notes that:

(a) when the Prime Minister deposed the Member for Waringah, he promised new economic leadership for Australia;

(b) the Prime Minister promised a significant tax reform agenda; and

(c) the Turnbull Government has said the entire reason for its tax reform agenda was to deliver personal income tax cuts for Australians; and

(2) notes that in the chaotic six months since the Prime Minister deposed the Member for Warringah, the Turnbull Government has:

(a) floated and then shelved plans for an increased GST;

(b) floated and then shelved plans for dealing with what the Government described as the excesses in negative gearing;

(c) backflipped on superannuation tax concessions;

(d) attacked Labor’s responsible plan for tobacco excise but now plans to adopt some or all of it; and

(e) floated and then shelved personal income tax cuts for Australians;

(3) notes that the only policies the Government has kept on the table are extreme cuts, including from the 2014 Budget, including plans for $100,000 university degrees, cuts to family payments, cuts to pensions, cuts to Medicare, and cuts to schools and hospitals; and

(4) condemns the Government and the Prime Minister for failing to meet their own tests, including failing to:

(a) provide new economic leadership;

(b) respect the intelligence of the Australian people;

(c) deliver any tax reform; and

(d) deliver a stable and competent Government but instead leading a Government wracked by chaos and dysfunction.

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten, which means it was unsuccessful

Motion text

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Maribyrnong from moving the following motion forthwith—

That the House:

(1) notes the Minister for Human Services assisted Nimrod Resources during a trip to China in August 2014 by:

(a) participating in a signing ceremony to seal a mining deal between Nimrod Resources and a Chinese state-owned company;

(b) presenting what have been described as a "medal" from the Prime Minister and a "letter of appointment" to an official of the Chinese state-owned company; and

(c) meeting with the Chinese Vice-Minister for Land and Resources accompanied by executives of Nimrod Resources;

(2) further notes that:

(a) before he travelled to China in August 2014, the Minister for Human Services did not advise Australian officials that he was to meet with the Chinese Vice-Minister for Land and Resources accompanied by executives of Nimrod Resources;

(b) the Government is refusing to disclose whether Defence security protocols were breached by the Minister while he was in China;

(c) the principal of Nimrod Resources, Paul Marks, has donated more than $2 million to the Liberal Party in the past two financial years; and

(d) the Minister for Human Services has already admitted to the House that he was travelling in a personal capacity when he assisted Nimrod Resources during his trip to China, and therefore, his actions were a direct breach of Clause 2.20 of the Prime Minister's own Statement of Ministerial Standards; and

(3) censures the Prime Minister for failing to enforce his own Statement of Ministerial Standards and sack the Minister for Human Services.

The House of Representatives voted 87 to 54 against a motion by Bill Shorten, MP for Maribyrnong and Leader of the Opposition, to suspend Parliamentary rules and business that would prevent him moving a motion of 'no confidence' in the Prime Minister, Tony Abbott MP for Warringah.

The majority didn't want to let Opposition Leader Bill Shorten introduce a motion condemning the Government's plan to deregulate university fees. This means that Mr Shorten can't introduce the motion.

Deregulating university fees

The Government has proposed to remove any restrictions on the amount that universities can charge students for tuition in Commonwealth Supported Places. It is not known how much fees will rise if this proposal is successfully passed through Parliament.

Text of the motion

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Maribyrnong from moving the following motion forthwith—That the House:

(1) condemns the Prime Minister for his plans to:

(a) force Australian students to pay $100,000 for university degrees;

(b) saddle Australian students with a debt sentence;

(c) force young Australians to choose between owning a home and getting a degree;

(d) force Australians to choose between starting a family and getting a degree; and

(e) stop older Australians from developing new skills in a changing economy;

(2) condemns the Prime Minister for:

(a) saying one thing on higher education before the election and doing the opposite after;

(b) his failure to listen to the Australian people who have comprehensively rejected the Prime Minister’s plans for $100,000 university degrees; and

(c) his failure to listen to the Senate which voted against the Prime Minister’s $100,000 degree proposal only last night; and

(3) calls on the Prime Minister to immediately bring the Higher Education and Research Reform Bill on for debate, if the Government is determined to introduce the bill, so that this Parliament can again comprehensively reject the Prime Minister’s plans for $100,000 degrees.

The majority disagreed with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten's motion to suspend standing and sessional orders so that he is able to move his motion against the proposed cuts to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). This means that the orders stay in place, blocking Mr Shorten from introducing his motion.

Background to the motion

Before the 2013 federal election, then Opposition Leader Tony Abbott had promised that there would be "no cuts to the ABC or SBS" (see the interview with SBS and ABC's FactCheck analysis for the ABC promise and the SBS promise).

Full motion text

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Maribyrnong from moving the following motion forthwith:

That the House—

(1) notes that:

(a) on Monday 24 November 2014, the Prime Minister stated to the House, "We are applying an efficiency dividend to the ABC" [see ABC News]; and

(b) the next day, the Minister for Communications directly contradicted the Prime Minister's statement in the House by stating on Sky News, "It is not an efficiency dividend" and again, "This is not an efficiency dividend" [see the Guardian]: and

(2) censures the Prime Minister for deliberately misleading:

(a) the parliament;

(b) the Australian people when he promised on the night before the last election that there would be "No cuts to education, no cuts to health, no change to pensions, no change to the GST, and no cuts to the ABC or SBS" [see that interview]; and

(c) the Australian people when he said, "It is an absolute principle of democracy that governments should not and must not say one thing before an election and do the opposite afterwards".

The majority voted against a motion letting the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Bill Shorten, put a motion condemning the Minister for Defence.

Wording of the motion

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the honourable Leader of the Opposition from moving the following motion forthwith—

That the House:

(1) notes that the Minister for Defence:

(a) promised on 8 May 2013 that the Coalition "will deliver those submarines from right here at ASC in South Australia. The Coalition today is committed to building 12 new submarines here in Adelaide.", and then broke that promise worth $20 billion;

(b) cut the real pay, Christmas and recreation leave for Australia's Defence men and women; and

(c) insulted the highly skilled and dedicated workers at ASC on 25 November 2014 by saying he "did not trust them to build a canoe";

(2) calls on the Prime Minister to immediately attend the House and confirm:

(a) why he has failed to direct the Minister for Defence to withdraw his insulting remarks; and

(b) whether he retains full confidence in the Minister for Defence; and

(3) should the Prime Minister fail to attend the House, that the House:

(a) condemns the Prime Minister for his failure to stand up for Australia’s Defence personnel; and

(b) calls on the Prime Minister to sack the Minister for Defence.

The majority voted against a motion letting the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Bill Shorten, put a motion condemning the Prime Minister.

Wording of the motion

That so much of standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent that Honourable the Leader of the Opposition from moving the following motion immediately.

That this House censures the Prime Minister for:

1) repeatedly and deliberately misleading the parliament and the Australian people by:

a) promising no cuts to the ABC or SBS, but cutting over $500 million and at least 400 jobs from these organisations;

b) promising before the election no cuts to education, no cuts to health, but cutting $80 billion from schools and hospitals;

c) promising before the election no cuts to education, but cutting more than $5.8 billion from our universities, meaning Australian students will pay more than $100,000 for a degree;

d) promising before the election no cuts to health, but hitting every Australian with a GP tax every time they visit the doctor;

e) promising no changes to pensions, but cutting $450 million from pension indexation;

f) promising no change to the GST, but blackmailing states and territories to make the case for him;

g) promising to build submarines in Australia, but going back on this promise; and

h) promising no new or increased taxes, but ambushing the Australian people with a $2.2 billion petrol tax.

2) for his dishonest and unfair budget which is hurting Australians.

Tony Burke sought to move a motion of censure against Barnaby Joyce (the Minister for Agriculture).

I move:

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would allow the member for Watson to move the following resolution forthwith:

That this House censures the Minister for Agriculture for:

(1) the misleading the House on Monday 20 October; and

(2) attempting to improperly alter the official Hansard record in order to cover up this misleading of the House.

You can read more about this incident in the SMH article Barnaby Joyce has Hansard changed back after being caught out over correction and read the official correction policy for Hansard released in a Freedom of Information request.

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Labor MP Chris Bowen. The motion was:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the honourable member for McMahon [Mr Bowen] from moving the following motion forthwith-That the debate be adjourned until the next sitting day to provide members with an opportunity to examine the legislation.

This means that Mr Bowen is not able to introduce his motion to adjourn the debate.

Background to the bill

This bill was introduced following the Minerals Resource Rent Tax Repeal and Other Measures Bill 2013 (No. 2) being laid aside because it could not "be progressed in its current form".(Read more about this bill being set aside here. The division which resulted in that bill being laid aside is available here. )

This bill repeals the Minerals Resource Rent Tax as well as related measures such as the low income superannuation contribution, the income support bonus and the schoolkids bonus. The bill also revises the capital allowances for small business entities and the superannuation guarantee charge percentage increase.(Read more about the changes made in the bill in the explanatory memorandum. ) Under the previous Labor government, the superannuation was set to increase to 12 per cent by 2019 (as of 1 July 2014, it is at 9.5 per cent).(Read more about superannuation in Australia here.) However, this bill will push that rise up until 1 July 2025.

The majority voted in favour of a motion introduced by Minister for Health Peter Dutton. The motion was:

That, pursuant to contingent notice, so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the remaining stages being passed without delay.(Read more about the stages that a bill must pass through to become law here. )

Because this motion was successful, Mr Dutton can now introduce the motion "That this bill be now read a third time", which he subsequently did.

Background to the bill

The bill implements one of the measures proposed by the Government as part of its 2014-15 Budget.(Read more about the Government's Budget proposal here. ) It will amend the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme ('PBS') so as to:

• increase the concessional patient co-payment by 80 cents from 1 January 2015;
• increase the general patient co-payment by $5.00 from 1 January 2015;
• increase the concessional safety net threshold by two prescriptions each year for four years, from 2015 to 2018; and
• increase the general patient safety net threshold by 10 per cent each year for four years, from 2015 to 2018.

(More information about the bill, including its explanatory memorandum and bills digest, is available here.)

A co-payment is the amount paid by the patient towards the cost of their PBS medicine. The government covers the rest of the cost.

The majority voted in favour of a motion introduced by Liberal MP Christopher Pyne, which was:

That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the motion for the third reading being moved without delay.

Because this motion was successful, the House will now vote on whether to read the bill for a third time and therefore pass it in the House.(See that third reading division here. )

Background to the bill

The bill was introduced to establish the Emissions Reduction Fund to replace the carbon price and to provide a transition for the Carbon Farming Initiative.(Read more about the bill in its explanatory memorandum. ) This is a central part of the Government's Direct Action policy,(Read more about Coalition's Direct Action policy on ABC News here. ) which was a key election commitment of the Coalition.

The Carbon Farming Initiative was introduced by the previous Labor Government and is a voluntary carbon offsets scheme that currently "allows farmers and land managers to earn carbon credits by reducing greenhouse gas emissions (such as nitrous oxide and methane) and storing carbon in vegetation and soils through changes to agricultural and land management practices (also known as carbon farming)".(Read more about the Carbon Farming Initiative here. )

The Coalition Government supports the Carbon Farming Initiative but Minister for Environment Greg Hunt has said that it "can be better, stronger, simpler and more streamlined",(Read Mr Hunt's full comments here. ) which is what this bill aims to do with its changes to the approvals process and the introduction of a 25-year-long option for carbon sequestration projects (currently all projects must run for a period of 100 years).(Read more about the changes in the bill's explanatory memorandum here.)

The majority voted in favour of a motion "That so much of the standing orders be suspended as would prevent the motion for the third reading being moved without delay." This motion was introduced by Liberal MP Christopher Pyne.

Passing this motion means that the Coalition can now move that the bill be read for a third time, which would mean the bill would be passed in the House. That motion was subsequently introduced by Nationals MP Warren Truss.(See the division on that motion here. )

Background to the bill

The Qantas Sale Amendment Bill 2014 was introduced to remove the foreign ownership and other restrictions that apply to Qantas but do not apply to other airlines based in Australia.(Read more on ABC News and on ABC Radio's AM program. ) These restrictions include: limits on the issue and ownership of Qantas shares, the makeup of the board of directors, use of the name Qantas and the location of the head office, place of incorporation and principle place of business.(Read more in the bills digest (852 KB).)

The majority voted against a motion introduced by MP Bill Shorten which is: "That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Honourable Member for Maribyrnong [i.e. MP Shorten] from moving the motion forthwith."

This means that MP Shorten is not able to move his initial motion, which was:

That the House:

(1) notes the:

(a) Prime Minister's failure to lead an 'open and transparent' government, despite promising the Australian people he would;

(b) repeated failure of the Minister for Immigration to answer questions inside and outside the Parliament; and

(c) Government's setting aside of ministerial responsibility to pursue media spin; and

(2) calls on the Minister for Immigration to immediately explain:

(a) details about the boat carrying Somali asylum seekers that arrived in Darwin on 11 November 2013; (Read about the boat arrival on ABC News here and here. )

(b) reported statements by BASARNAS concerning the Australian interception of an asylum seeker vessel and subsequent actions and events on or around November 7; and (Read more about this interception on ABC News here. )

(c) how the Government intends to pursue its election commitment to turn back boats to Indonesia and buy back boats in fishing villages. (Read the Government's election commitment here (2 MB).)

The majority voted against a motion introduced by the Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott. This means that it was unsuccessful.

The motion was:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Leader of the Opposition from moving the following motion:

That this House calls on the Government to end its internal arguments and actually govern the country and if it can’t, to restore the selection of the Prime Minister to the people in an election, where it should be.

Background to the motion

The Labor Party leadership has been tumultuous since 2010, when there was a leadership spill that led to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd resigning and being replaced by Julia Gillard. This spill was followed by further spills in 2012 and March 2013, which Ms Gillard managed to win and so remain Prime Minister.

The day this motion was moved, another leadership spill is brewing. At 7pm it is called and Mr Rudd wins to become Prime Minister once more and Ms Gillard resigns.

The majority voted in favour of a motion introduced by Liberal MP Christopher Pyne. However, since an absolute majority is required to suspend standing and sessional orders (as the motion attempted to do), it was unsuccessful.

The motion was:

That in accordance with standing order 132, standing and sessional orders be suspended to enable the House to divide again on the question: That the suspension of standing and sessional orders be agreed to.(Read Mr Pyne's explanation of the motion and the related debate here, after 3:58 pm. )

Mr Pyne was seeking to vote on the question again because, when the division originally took place, one of the opposition members just missed out on the chance to take part in it. It was Mr Pyne's hope that, if the division is retaken, it will be successful.(See that previous division here.)

References

The majority voted in favour of a motion introduced by Independent MP Andrew Wilkie. However, since an absolute majority is required to suspend standing and sessional orders (as the motion attempted to do), it was unsuccessful.

The motion was:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Denison moving the following motion forthwith:

That the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security be directed by the Minister to report by 20 June 2013 on the following:

(1) to establish all facts in relation to allegations that a convicted Egyptian jihadist terrorist was in a detention centre in full knowledge of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship, without passing this information to the Minister; and

(2) whether processes and/or resources need to change to address any issues raised, and if so, in detail, to recommend where.(Read Mr Wilkie's explanation of the motion and the related debate here. Read more about this incident on ABC News here.)

References

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Liberal MP Michael Keenan.

The motion was:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Stirling moving the following motion forthwith:

That the Prime Minister immediately commission a cross government review into the Government’s incompetent handling of the circumstances surrounding the placing of a convicted Egyptian jihadist terrorist in a low security family detention facility in the Adelaide Hills including:(Read Mr Keenan's explanation of the motion and the related debate here. Read more about this incident on ABC News here.)

(1) when was the Prime Minister, the Attorney-General, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship and the Home Affairs Minister first made aware of the presence of the Egyptian terrorist in the detention network and when did each responsible department or agency brief their Minister and the Prime Minister;

(2) the adequacy of communication arrangements and intelligence sharing between the relevant departments and agencies on matters of national security;

(3) the effects of the Governments budget cuts on our national security agencies ability to detect such cases particularly the $6.9 million cut to ASIO’s budget for security screening of asylum seekers; and

(4) a review of any similar cases including those of a Sri Lankan man accused of murder who was released into the community on a bridging visa and an accused Iranian drug smuggler.

References

The majority voted in favour of a motion introduced by Liberal MP Scott Morrison. However, since an absolute majority is required to suspend standing and sessional orders (as the motion attempted to do), it was unsuccessful.

The motion was:(Read Mr Morrison's whole explanation of his motion and the related debate here. )

That so much of standing and sessional orders be suspended as to allow the member for Cook to move the following motion:

That given the Government’s refusal to answer questions in this House and their refusal to establish an independent inquiry into the Government’s ‘light touch’ handling of national security issues regarding the detention and processing of a convicted terrorist who arrived illegally by boat in and around May 2012 that:(Read more about this incident on ABC News here.)

(1) a Select Committee on the ‘National security issues relating to the processing and detention of a convicted terrorist who arrived by boat in and around May 2012 and other related matters involving the Government’s handling of national security issues for irregular maritime arrivals’ be appointed to inquire into and report on, having regard to the following circumstances,:

(a) in or around May 2012, an Egyptian adult male accompanied by his family arrived illegally by boat at Christmas Island claiming asylum. After initial processing the man and family were transferred to the Inverbrackie Alternative Place of Detention, a detention facility for low risk asylum seeker families in the Adelaide Hills;

(b) by end August 2012 it was established by ASIO that this man was convicted of multiple terrorist offences, a member of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad which merged with Al Qaeda in June 2001. He was the subject of an Interpol Red Notice; and

(c) the man and family remained in low security detention at Inverbrackie until April 2013 when they were transferred to higher security detention facilities at Villawood in Sydney;

(2) the Select Committee should:

(a) establish the facts surrounding the case in relation to:

(i) the full chronology of the events relating to the man and his family’s arrival and detention in Australia and associated security and criminal investigations;

(ii) how and when relevant agencies and Ministers became aware of the man’s terrorist conviction and what action was taken in response to that knowledge;

(iii) the adequacy of interagency co-operation, and in particular co-operation between DIAC, ASIO and the AFP, in identifying, sharing information, and taking steps to appropriately deal with the individual concerned;

(iv) why the individual was left so long at the Inverbrackie low security facility before being transferred to Villawood;

(v) the current location and security arrangements for the man and family;

(vi) the current status of immigration processing of his asylum or any other claim; and

(vii) action being taken in relation to his extradition to Egypt and the point of responsibility for ongoing management of this national security case;

(b) review the facts and make an assessment of any failings in the Government’s handling of this case and who will be responsible;

(c) identify and establish the facts relating to the Government’s handling of other cases, involving national security issues including, but not restricted to:

(i) a Sri Lankan national suspected of murder who was released into the community before being taken to Villawood detention centre;

(ii) a suspected Iranian drug smuggler who arrived via boat and is now in a mental health facility;

(iii) asylum seeker claims involving membership of the group the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam; and

(iv) any other asylum seeker claim that has received a negative ASIO security assessment; and

(d) make recommendations to address issues identified in the review;

(3) the committee consist of seven members, three members to be nominated by the Government Whip or Whips, three members to be nominated by the Opposition Whip or Whips, and one non-aligned member;

(4) the committee may supplement its membership by up to four members, with a maximum of two extra government and two extra opposition or non-aligned members. Supplementary members shall have the same participatory rights as other members, but may not vote;

(5) every nomination of a member of the committee be notified in writing to the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

(6) the members of the committee hold office as a select committee until presentation of the committee's report or the House of Representatives is dissolved or expires by effluxion of time, whichever is the earlier;

(7) the committee elect a government or a non-government member as chair at its first meeting;

(8) the committee elect a member as its deputy chair who shall act as chair of the committee at any time when the chair is not present at a meeting of the committee, and at any time when the chair and deputy chair are not present at a meeting of the committee the members present shall elect another member to act as chair at that meeting;

(9) in the event of an equally divided vote, the chair, or the deputy chair when acting as chair, have a casting vote;

(10) three members of the committee constitute a quorum of the committee provided that in a deliberative meeting the quorum shall include one government member and one non-government member;

(11) the committee have power to appoint sub-committees consisting of three or more of its members and to refer to any sub-committee any matter which the committee is empowered to examine;

(12) the committee appoint the chair of each sub-committee who shall have a casting vote only and at any time when the chair of a sub-committee is not present at a meeting of the sub-committee the members of the sub-committee present shall elect another member of that sub-committee to act as chair at that meeting;

(13) two members of a sub-committee constitute the quorum of that sub-committee;

(14) members of the committee who are not members of a sub-committee may participate in the proceedings of that sub-committee but shall not vote, move any motion or be counted for the purpose of a quorum;

(15) the committee or any sub-committee have power to call for witnesses to attend and for documents to be produced;

(16) the committee or any sub-committee may conduct proceedings at any place it sees fit;

(17) the committee or any sub-committee have power to adjourn from time to time and to sit during any adjournment of the House of Representative;

(18) the committee may report from time to time but that it present its final report no later than 30 June 2013; and

(19) the provisions of this resolution, so far as they are inconsistent with the standing orders, have effect notwithstanding anything contained in the standing orders.

References

The majority voted in favour of a motion introduced by Labor MP Anthony Albanese. The motion was: "That in accordance with standing order 132, standing and sessional orders be suspended to enable the House to divide again on the question viz.: That the Opposition amendments be agreed to."

That earlier division took place when some members were not in the House.(The earlier division on Opposition amendments is available here. ) This meant that the Opposition was able to form a majority to pass their amendments. Mr Albanese brought this motion to take advantage of parliamentary reform that occurred as a result of the 2010 election, when neither major party formed a clear majority. This reform introduced standing order 132, which allows a recommittal if a member inadvertently misses a division.(Read more about these reforms here. )

Because an absolute majority agreed with this motion, a second division on whether to agree with the Opposition amendments will be made.(See the second division on Opposition amendments here. )

One member, Liberal MP Luke Simpkins, rebelled and crossed the floor to vote 'aye' with the Government.(Read more about what it means to cross the floor in our FAQ Section. )

Background to the Bill

The Bill is the fourth and final legislative bundle implementing the Stronger Super reforms announced by the Labor Government in 2010.(More information about this Bill and the context surrounding it can be found here.) It introduces a number of corporate governance measures that arose out of the Review into the Governance, Efficiency, Structure and Operation of Australia’s Superannuation System (known as the Cooper Review) and the Government’s own consultations with industry, employer and consumer groups.

References

The majority voted in favour of a motion by Independent MP Andrew Wilkie to suspend the rules so that he could move another motion on the Migration Legislation Amendment (Offshore Processing, Protection and Other Measures) Bill 2012.

Motion text

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Denison from moving the following motion forthwith—That the House, in consideration of the urgent need to find a way through the irregular immigration impasse, continue to sit until private Members' notice No. 1 given for Thursday, 28 June 2102, by the member for Cook, Migration Legislation Amendment (Offshore Processing, Protection and Other Measures) Bill 2012, is called on immediately.

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Liberal MP Tony Abbott, the Leader of the Opposition. This means that the motion is rejection.

The motion was:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Warringah moving immediately:

That this House calls on the Prime Minister to explain to the Australian people the following:

(1) why this is the right time to introduce the world’s largest carbon tax despite growing economic uncertainty; and(By "carbon tax", Mr Abbott is referring to the carbon pricing mechanism, which will begin on 1 July 2012. )

(2) why it is right for the Prime Minister to break her solemn pledge that “there will be no carbon tax under a government I lead” by bringing in this tax without the consent of the people.(Read more about this promise, made by Prime Minister Julia Gillard, on ABC's The Drum.)

References

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott.

The motion was:

"That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Warringah moving immediately:

That this House calls on the Prime Minister to explain to the Australian people the following:

(1) why this is the right time to introduce the world’s largest carbon tax despite growing economic uncertainty; and

(2) why it is right for the Prime Minister to break her solemn pledge that “there will be no carbon tax under a government I lead” by bringing in this tax without the consent of the people."(The Prime Minister responded to questions about this statement on ABC's AM Program here. )

National Party Senator Tony Crook rebelled against his party by crossing the floor to vote 'no' with the Opposition in this division.(Read more about what it means to be a rebel in our FAQ Section.)

References

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott. This means that the motion was unsuccessful.

The motion was:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Warringah moving immediately-That this House censures the Government for deceiving the Australian people by bringing in a carbon tax that is nothing more than a bad tax built on a lie.(By "carbon tax", Mr Abbott is referring to the carbon pricing mechanism, which will begin on 1 July 2012. By "lie", he is referring to an election promise made by Prime Minister Julia Gillard, which you can read more about on ABC's The Drum.)

References

The majority voted against a motion moved by Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott. This means that it was unsuccessful.

The motion was:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Warringah moving immediately:

That the Prime Minister immediately explain why she is so determined to deceive the Australian people about the details of her carbon tax(By "carbon tax", Mr Abbott is referring to the carbon pricing mechanism, which will begin on 1 July 2012. ) by refusing to release the details for the full scrutiny of the Parliament this week. In particular:

(1) why should anyone trust:

(a) the Prime Minister to tell them the truth on the carbon tax now, when, six days before the election, she said that "there will be no carbon tax under the government I lead";(Read more about this promise, made by Prime Minister Julia Gillard, on ABC's The Drum.)

(b) the Prime Minister to tell them the truth now, when, one day before the election, she said "I rule out a carbon tax";

(c) the Prime Minister to tell them the truth now, when she said only yesterday that "when I'm in a position to give people the details about a carbon tax I will" yet is refusing to release the details to this Parliament and is hiding from scrutiny;

(d) this Prime Minister when she is trying to sneak through a carbon tax without a mandate when the only real mandate of this Parliament is a mandate NOT to introduce a carbon tax; and

(e) this Prime Minister who rules out giving people a vote on the carbon tax by refusing to call an election and now refusing to allow a plebiscite; and

(2) that the House calls on the Prime Minister to recall Parliament next week to debate her carbon tax and give the answers that the forgotten families of Australia are demanding today.

References

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Liberal MP Tony Abbott. This means that it was rejected. The motion was:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Warringah moving immediately-

That this House calls on the Prime Minister to explain to the Australian people why she arrogantly refuses to give them a vote on whether Australia should introduce a carbon tax,(By "carbon tax", Mr Abbott is referring to the carbon pricing mechanism, which will begin on 1 July 2012. ) a vote that she denied them at the last election when she said "there will be no carbon tax under a Government I lead",(Read more about this promise, made by Prime Minister Julia Gillard, on ABC's The Drum.) and now rules out a plebiscite. If the Prime Minister thinks the Australian people want a carbon tax, why is she so scared to give the people their say?

References

The majority voted in favour of a motion introduced by Independent MP Bob Katter. However, because an absolute majority was not achieved (as required for motions to suspend standing and sessional orders), it was not successful. The motion was:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Kennedy from moving the following motion-That this House:

(1) note the impact of the live animal export suspension on Northern Australia, the whole cattle industry and all those associated with it and directs the Government within two weeks to:(Read more about the suspension to live animal exports on ABC News here and on Wikipedia here. The Four Corners report that precipitated the suspension is available here.)

(a) deploy 10 Australian officials to Indonesia;

(b) direct these officials, along with Indonesia Government appointees, to immediately implement an upgrading of Indonesian abattoirs to meet humane standards currently met in Australia; and

(c) instruct Indonesian meatworkers on how to process to humane standards currently met in Australia;

(2) directs the Government to ship to Indonesia 60 stun guns with knocking boxes and video cameras within seven days, and to provide appropriate training;

(3) directs the Government as a matter of urgency to:

(a) immediately accredit Indonesia abattoirs that already meet Australian standards;

(b) begin accrediting Indonesian abattoirs that have been newly upgraded to meet humane standards currently met in Australia;

(c) implement supply chain traceability and auditing systems; and

(d) implement independent monitoring of conditions in Indonesian abattoirs;

(4) once the conditions in clause 3 are satisfied, calls on the Government to immediately ensure the resumption of trade with accredited Indonesian abattoirs that meet humane standards currently met in Australia; and

(5) directs the Federal Government to immediately commence an inquiry into the circumstances leading up to the Minister for Agriculture’s decision to suspend the live cattle export trade to Indonesia and that this inquiry include Meat and Livestock Australia and all other related instrumentalities and departmental division.

References and further information

The majority voted in favour of a motion introduced by Independent MP Bob Katter to suspend standing orders so that a motion could be put forward to “to establish an immediate inquiry into the circumstances leading up to the Minister for Agriculture's decision to suspend the live cattle trade to Indonesia”. However, because an absolute majority was not achieved (as required for motions to suspend standing and sessional orders), the motion was not successful.

The motion was:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Kennedy moving immediately-

That this House urgently agrees to bring on the motion standing in the name of the Member for Kennedy to establish an immediate inquiry into the circumstances leading up to the Minister for Agriculture's decision to suspend the live cattle trade to Indonesia.

See Bob Katter's full explanation of his motion and the related debate on openaustralia.org.

Read more about this decision to ban live cattle trade to Indonesia on Lateline.

The majority voted against suspending standing and sessional orders so that Liberal MP Tony Abbott could introduced his motion.

Motion text

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Warringah moving immediately—That this House calls on the Prime Minister to explain why she continues to pursue a people swap policy with Malaysia when it is now abundantly clear that Nauru provides an immediate solution to deal with illegal arrivals that is cost effective, humane and proven. In particular:

(1) why would the Prime Minister send illegal arrivals to Malaysia:

(a) which hasn't signed the UN Convention Against Torture, rather than Nauru which has;

(b) which won't sign the UN Declaration on Refugees, when the Nauru Government announced yesterday that they will;

(c) where they would be detained and tagged, rather than Nauru where they would have the run of the island under an open processing centre regime;

(d) when she can't guarantee the standard and accessibility of medical care, when I have personally seen the hospital in Nauru and I can make this guarantee; and

(e) when she can't guarantee the access to school for the children, when I have personally seen the schools in Nauru and I can make this guarantee; and

(2) above all, why should the Australian taxpayer be forced to pay over $300 million for a new processing facility in Malaysia when they have already funded one in Nauru that could be rapidly re-opened for a fraction of the cost and has been proven to work.

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Leader of the Opposition Tony Abbott. This means that it was unsuccessful.

The motion was:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Warringah moving immediately-

That this House calls on the Prime Minister to explain to the Australian people why her Government has abandoned the manufacturing industry in this country by preparing to introduce a carbon tax.(By "carbon tax", Mr Abbott is referring to the carbon pricing mechanism, which will begin on 1 July 2012.) In particular, why the:

(1) Members for Corio and Corangamite aren’t standing up for the 1,300 workers at Ford in Geelong;

(2) Member for Gellibrand isn’t standing up for the 3,300 workers at Toyota in Altona;

(3) Member for Capricornia isn’t standing up for the 2,000 workers a the Newlands, German Creek and Moranbah coal mines;

(4) Members for Throsby and Cunningham aren’t standing up for the 7,000 workers at Bluescope Steel and Illawarra Coal;

(5) Member for Brand isn’t standing up for the 1,300 workers at Alcoa in Kwinana;

(6) Member for Calwell isn’t standing up for the 1,900 workers at Ford in Broadmeadows;

(7) Member for Hunter isn’t standing up for the 2,700 jobs at the Wambo, Mount Thorley, Mount Owen and Hunter Valley mines;

(8) Member for Lingiari isn’t standing up for the 850 workers at Rio Tinto/Alcoa Gove;

(9) Member for Wakefield isn’t standing up for the 2,700 workers at Holden in Elizabeth;

(10) Member for Bass isn’t standing up for the 560 workers at Alcan in Bell Bay; and

(11) Prime Minister won’t even stand up for the 466 workers in her own seat of Lalor who work at One Steel in Laverton.

References

The majority voted against letting a vote happen. In parliamentary jargon, they voted against suspending the standing orders.

Motion text

That so much of standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Warringah moving immediately—That this House suspend proceedings forthwith so that the Prime Minister can stand before the Parliament and explain why:

(1) the Prime Minister refuses to consider an offshore detention centre in Nauru because, as she said in an interview on 8 July 2010, “I would rule out anywhere that is not a signatory to the Refugee Convention” yet now plans to send asylum seekers to Malaysia who hasn’t signed it either;

(2) the Prime Minister decried the use of Manus Island and the Howard Government’s so called “Pacific Solution” as “costly, unsustainable and wrong as a matter of principle” in 2003 yet is now desperately negotiating with the PNG Government to re-open Manus Island;

(3) the Prime Minister has damaged our national interest by agreeing to a deal with Malaysia that will see us accept five of their refugees for every one of the asylum seekers we send to them - with Australian taxpayers footing the complete bill;

(4) the Government allowed three people, identified by the NT Coroner as responsible for the fire aboard the people smuggling boat, SIEV36 which killed five people and injured 40, to be granted permanent residency in Australia;

(5) it took only three hours for the NSW police to remove protestors from the roof of the Immigration Minister’s office yet no action was taken against protestors on the roof of Villawood for 11 days;

(6) rioters at Christmas Island faced no penalty for burning down buildings and risking the lives of people at the facility;

(7) the Prime Minister promised an East Timor solution before the election knowing very well that it was opposed by the Government of East Timor and was nothing more than a dishonest election smokescreen; and

(8) the Prime Minister doesn’t just come clean and reinstate the Howard Government policies that worked rather than try to maintain this elaborate fiction that Labor has a plan to stop the boats.

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Liberal MP Tony Abbott. This means that it was rejected. The motion was:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Warringah moving immediately-That this House censures the Prime Minister for her announcement today that confirms that she will introduce a carbon tax(By "carbon tax", Mr Abbott is referring to the carbon pricing mechanism, which will begin on 1 July 2012. ) this year breaking her solemn promise to the Australian people that “there will be no carbon tax under the Government I lead”(Read more about this promise, made by Prime Minister Julia Gillard, on ABC's The Drum. ) and in particular:

(1) that the Prime Minister stand condemned for:

(a) inflicting another new Labor tax on families already battling to make ends meet because of the rising cost of living;

(b) hitting pensioners and carers with another new Labor tax at a time when they are already struggling with soaring power bills and increased grocery prices;

(c) burdening small business with another new Labor tax at a time when many of them are barely surviving;

(d) adding an extra $300 to the average household power bill with her new carbon tax; and

(e) adding an extra 6.5 cents per litre to the cost of petrol with her new carbon tax; and

(2) at a time when there is no global agreement on reducing emissions and, under this new Labor tax, Australia will bear an unacceptable economic cost that won't be shared by our international competitors.

One member, Nationals MP Tony Crook, rebelled against his party and crossed the floor to vote 'no' with the Government.(Read more about what it means to cross the floor in our FAQ Section.)

References

That the motion ( Mr Hockey ’s) be agreed to.

The requirements of standing order 47(c)(ii) for an absolute majority having not been satisfied, the motion was not carried.

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Liberal MP Scott Morrison. The motion was:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Cook [Scott Morrison] from moving that standing orders be suspended to enable the Member for Mayo to move the motion standing in his name, viz.—That this House:

(1) notes:

(a) the announcement on 18 October 2010 by the Prime Minister and the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship about the commissioning of a detention facility at Inverbrackie in South Australia costing $9.7 million to accommodate 400 people, consisting of family groups who are undergoing refugee status assessment; (b) that the Prime Minister and the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship failed to consult with the State Government of SA, the Adelaide Hills Council and the local Woodside community on the commissioning of this facility; and (c) that the Prime Minister visited the Adelaide Hills on Sunday 17 October 2010 immediately prior to the announcement and made no mention of the plan to commission the detention facility at Inverbrackie;

(2) provides a reference to the Joint Standing Committee on Migration to undertake the following inquiry:

(a) that the Joint Standing Committee on Migration inquire into the commissioning of a detention facility for 400 people comprising family groups at Inverbrackie, including:

(i) the suitability of the site for locating a detention facility for the purpose of accommodating family groups in comparison with alternative options available to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship; (ii) the impact of the operation of the facility on the local community, including on health, education, recreation, transport, police and other community services; (iii) the impact on defence operations, personnel and family groups based at the Inverbrackie facility; (iv) the impact of the facility on the local economy and small business; (v) the level of community support for the commissioning of the facility; (vi) the level of cost and extent of services and facilities provided to clients at the detention facility; and (vii) potential risks that need to be managed for the successful operation of the facility;

(b) that the Joint Standing Committee on Migration undertake public hearings in Woodside, SA and Canberra, ACT to facilitate the participation of community members, local service providers, council officers and state and federal departmental officials to assist the Committee with its inquiry; and (c) that the Joint Standing Committee on Migration report back no later than the first sitting week of Parliament in 2011; and

(3) calls on the Government to postpone commissioning the detention facility for 400 people including family groups at Inverbrackie, until such time as the Committee has reported and the Government has provided a response to that report to the Parliament.

Since the majority voted against this division, it was unsuccessful.

Nationals MP Tony Crook rebelled against his party and crossed the floor to vote 'no' with the Government.(Read more about what it means to cross the floor in our FAQ section.)

References

The majority voted in favour of a motion introduced by Independent MP Bob Katter, which means that it was rejected. The motion was:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Member for Kennedy [Mr Katter] moving immediately the following motion: That the House immediately debate a matter of national importance, namely the continuing deterioration of the Australian mining industry demonstrated by the announcement by Xstrata that they will not be proceeding with Ernest Henry copper mine at Cloncurry nor the Wandoan Coal Project,(Read more about this announcement here.) costing Queensland 3,200 jobs in construction and over 1,000 permanent jobs thereafter.

Because this motion was unsuccessful, Mr Katter was not able to subsequently move his proposed motion.

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Leader of the Opposition Malcolm Turnbull, which means that it was unsuccessful. The motion was:

That so much of the standing and sessional orders be suspended as would prevent the Leader of the Opposition from moving immediately - That the House of Representatives: (1) recognises that the Prime Minister and his Government: (a) have acknowledged that it is virtually impossible for single age pensioners to meet essential expenses on the current pension rate, yet have refused to act and instead expect struggling pensioners to wait until yet another review is completed; and (b) have a responsibility to act immediately to ensure that the entire pension payment system appropriately addresses these pressures; (2) affirms the urgency of the Coalition’s pension bill in proposing to: (a) increase the single age pension, single age service pension and the Widow B pension by $30 per week; (b) provide immediate relief to single age pensioners, single age service pensioners and Widow B pensioners struggling with the rising cost of living pressures; and (c) provide the first step in ensuring that the Government acts immediately and accepts its responsibilities to take the urgent action required to assist all pensioners; (3) demands that the Government: (a) allow the Opposition proposal to be debated immediately and in doing so, reflect the will of the Senate in passing the Urgent Relief for Single Age Pensioners Bill 2008 last night; and (b) recognise the urgency of the Coalition’s bill and support its enactment without further delay; and (4) should it refuse to deal with the Coalition’s bill, demands that the Acting Prime Minister immediately introduce the Urgent Relief for Single Age Pensioners Bill 2008 in the House of Representatives with full knowledge that it will pass through this place and through the Senate.