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Katy Gallagher voted moderately for implementing refugee and protection conventions

How Katy Gallagher voted compared to someone who believes that the federal government should implement the international conventions that relate to seeking refuge and protection from torture. These include the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees and the non-refoulement provisions of the UN Convention Against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Division Katy Gallagher Supporters vote Division outcome

20th Jun 2017, 4:05 PM – Senate Motions - Asylum Seekers - Withdraw from Refugee Convention

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The majority voted against a motion that called for the government to "withdraw from the Refugee Convention immediately", which was introduced by Australian Conservatives Senator Cory Bernardi (SA).

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) 20 June 2017 is World Refugee Day,

(ii) the United Nations 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees is irretrievably broken,

(iii) people smuggling is a crime and nations must secure their borders, and

(iv) national security must always come before accepting refugees; and

(b) calls upon the Government to:

(i) withdraw from the Refugee Convention immediately; and

(ii) reflect upon incidents of domestic terror and foreign fighters, and the refugee history of those persons, and strengthen national security and immigration policies accordingly.

 No No (strong) Not passed by a large majority

14th Feb 2017, 4:13 PM – Senate Motions - Papua New Guinea: Asylum Seekers - Against forced migration

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The majority voted against a motion introduced by Greens Senator Nick McKim (Tas), which means the motion failed.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) notes that:

(i) the Papua New Guinea Government has commenced the removal of detainees from the Lombrum Regional Processing Centre for the purpose of forcibly deporting them from Papua New Guinea, and

(ii) advice from Professor Jane McAdam of the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law at the University of New South Wales, states:

(A) "Papua New Guinea's refugee status determination process is inconsistent with international law in a number of significant respects",

(B) "As United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has noted, the Regulation [Papua New Guinea's Migration Regulation] incorrectly applies the limited exclusion provisions of the Refugee Convention to ordinary criminal matters more properly dealt with under Papua New Guinea criminal law, which could lead to wrongful denial of refugee status", and

8(C) "There is a serious risk that the forcible removal of an asylum seeker from Papua New Guinea may violate international law"; and*

(b) agrees that the Papua New Guinea refugee status determination process is inconsistent with international law, and opposes the forced deportation from Papua New Guinea of people who have sought asylum in Australia.

 No Yes Not passed by a large majority

How "voted moderately for" is worked out

The MP's votes count towards a weighted average where the most important votes get 50 points, less important votes get 10 points, and less important votes for which the MP was absent get 2 points. In important votes the MP gets awarded the full 50 points for voting the same as the policy, 0 points for voting against the policy, and 25 points for not voting. In less important votes, the MP gets 10 points for voting with the policy, 0 points for voting against, and 1 (out of 2) if absent.

Then, the number gets converted to a simple english language phrase based on the range of values it's within.

No of votes Points Out of
Most important votes (50 points)      
MP voted with policy 1 50 50
MP voted against policy 0 0 0
MP absent 0 0 0
Less important votes (10 points)      
MP voted with policy 0 0 0
MP voted against policy 1 0 10
Less important absentees (2 points)      
MP absent* 0 0 0
Total: 50 60

*Pressure of other work means MPs or Senators are not always available to vote – it does not always indicate they have abstained. Therefore, being absent on a less important vote makes a disproportionatly small difference.

Agreement score = MP's points / total points = 50 / 60 = 83%.

And then