Peter Costello voted moderately against speeding things along in Parliament (procedural)

The majority voted in favour of a motion "That the question be now put", which was introduced by Parliamentary Secretary for Climate Change Greg Combet. The question referred to was "That the bill, as amended, be agreed to", which was subsequently put.(See that division here. )

This is a procedural motion and is known as a "closure" or "gag" as it ends debate on a particular question by requiring it to be asked.(Read more about these types of motions here. )

Background to the bill

The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill 2009 was introduced as part of a package of six bills to introduce the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.(Read more about the scheme on Wikipedia. ) This is an emission trading scheme designed to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in an effort to address climate change. The scheme gives effect to Australia's obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol.

The design of the scheme has been criticised by the business community for threatening jobs and by environmentalists for not going far enough with its emission reduction targets.(Read more about these criticisms here.)

The six bills that were introduced as a package are called:

• the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme Bill 2009
• the Australian Climate Change Regulatory Authority Bill 2009
• the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (Charges-Customs) Bill 2009
• the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (Charges-Excise) Bill 2009
• the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (Charges-General) Bill 2009
• the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2009

References

The majority voted in favour of a motion introduced by Leader of the House Anthony Albanese. The motion was "that the question be put".

The question referred to was a previous motion put by Mr Albanese in relation to the Urgent Relief for Single Age Pensioners Bill 2008.(See the division on that motion (and learn more about its subject matter) here.)

The majority voted in favour of a motion "That the question be now put." The motion was introduced by Labor MP Anthony Albanese. The question was whether to read the bill for a second time,(Read more about the stages that a bill must pass through before becoming law here. ) which was subsequently put.(See that division here. )

Background to the bill

The bill was introduced to increase the Medicare levy surcharge threshold to $100,000 for individuals and to $150,000 for families.(Read more about the bill in its bills digest (73.8 KB).)

The majority voted in favour of a motion to speed things along. In parliamentary jargon, they voted to put the question.

The majority voted in favour of a motion to put the question, which was moved by Liberal MP Tony Abbott.

The question in this case was a procedural motion "That the time allotted for the remaining stages of the bill be until 1.30 pm this day", which was subsequently put.(See that division here. ) This question follows on from Mr Abbott's previous motion that the bill be considered an urgent one.(Read more about that division here. )

Background to the bill

The bill was introduced to allow the federal government to sell its interest in Medibank Private Limited and allow Medibank to operate on a “for profit” basis. The Coalition Government plans to do this after the 2007 election, should it be re-elected.(Read more about this privatisation proposal on Wikipedia here and on the ABC's World Today program here.)