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Anthony Chisholm voted very strongly for increasing consumer protections

How Anthony Chisholm voted compared to someone who believes that the federal government should introduce legislation that increases consumer protections by, for example, encouraging competition

Division Anthony Chisholm Supporters vote Division outcome

23rd Aug 2018, 12:27 PM – Senate Motions - Australian Consumer Law - Protect consumers

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The majority voted in favour of a motion introduced by Centre Alliance Senator Stirling Griff. Motions like these don't make any changes on their own but are politically influential because they represent the will of the Senate.

Motion text

That the Senate:

(a) notes that:

(i) during the 2017-18 financial year, over 4 million items were recalled in Australia due to safety concerns, including Takata airbags, Infinity cabling, Safetech pool gate latches and Samsung washing machines,

(ii) according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, each day at least 10 people require medical attention as a result of injuries received by using unsafe products, and

(iii) earlier this year, the Federal Court found that the Australian distributor for Thermomix failed to notify consumers of safety issues with the TM31 model – the distributor continued to sell $16 million worth of appliances in the two months between becoming aware of the safety faults and issuing a recall;

(b) acknowledges that, unlike the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada, Malaysia and Brazil, the Australian Consumer Law does not prohibit the sale of unsafe products;

(c) further notes that:

(i) a General Safety Provision (GSP) could be included in the Australian Consumer Law, which would penalise unconscionable retailers who seek to profit from the sale of unsafe products,

(ii) the introduction of a GSP was recommended by the comprehensive Australian Consumer Law Review in 2017,

(iii) the Communique from the Legislative and Governance Forum on Consumer Affairs (LGFCA), on 31 August 2017, noted that further consultation on the inclusion of a GSP would occur prior to a decision being made at the 2018 meeting of the LGCFA,

(iv) consultation has not occurred, and

(v) the LGFCA will meet on 31 August 2018 to consider the best and most consistent protection for Australian and New Zealand consumers; and

(d) calls on the Federal Government to protect consumers, and act on the recommendations of the Australian Consumer Law Review to introduce a GSP.

 Yes Yes Passed by a small majority

How "voted very strongly 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 0 0 0
MP voted against policy 0 0 0
MP absent 0 0 0
Less important votes (10 points)      
MP voted with policy 1 10 10
MP voted against policy 0 0 0
Less important absentees (2 points)      
MP absent* 0 0 0
Total: 10 10

*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 = 10 / 10 = 100%.

And then