edited
7th Dec 2018
Documents - Queensland: Abortion - Let a vote happen
Helen Polley voted No in this free vote
Not passed by a modest majority
No rebellions 70% attendance
Helen Polley
Australian Labor Party Senator for Tasmania since July 2005
Never rebels explain rebellions 70% attendance explain attendance
How do they vote?
Voted very strongly for
- A citizenship test
- A constitutionally enshrined First Nations Voice in parliament
- A Royal Commission into Robodebt
- An NBN (using fibre to the premises)
- Assisting Australians trying to return from overseas
- Building dedicated quarantine facilities (COVID-19)
- Carbon farming
- Criminalising "revenge porn"
- Doctor-initiated medical transfers for asylum seekers
- Expanding Medicare-funded dental care
- Extending government benefits to same-sex couples
- Extending Jobkeeper Payment
- Giving apprentices access to a $20,000 loan
- Imprisoning immigration detention workers who record or reveal information from their work
- Increasing access to medicinal cannabis products
- Increasing competition in bulk wheat export
- Increasing eligibility requirements for Australian citizenship
- Increasing legal protections for LGBTI people
- Increasing penalties for breach of data
- Increasing protections for franchisees
- Increasing support for community radio and TV
- Increasing the diversity of media ownership
- Maintaining or increasing defence spending
- Making Australians working overseas repay their student debts
- Promoting multiculturalism
- Recognising local government in the Constitution
- Removing parallel import restrictions for books
- Revoking citizenship of dual nationals involved with terrorism offences by the minister
- The Intervention in the Northern Territory
- The Paris Climate Agreement
- Tobacco plain packaging
- Treating the COVID vaccine rollout as a matter of urgency
Voted strongly for
- A declared area offence
- A minerals resource rent tax
- An independent inquiry into Attorney-General Christian Porter
- Assisting the Arts sector through the coronavirus pandemic
- Decreasing the gender pay gap
- Decreasing the private health insurance rebate
- Federal action on public housing
- Increasing consumer protections
- Increasing funding for public schools
- Increasing funding for road infrastructure
- Increasing trade unions' powers in the workplace
- Investing in climate science
- Removing children from immigration detention
- The Murray Darling Basin Plan
- Transgender rights
Voted moderately for
- A carbon price
- A Free Trade Agreement with China
- A national redress scheme for institutional abuse survivors
- A Royal Commission into banking
- A Royal Commission into Violence and Abuse against People with Disability
- Adani's proposed Carmichael coal mine in the Galilee Basin
- Australia's timber industry
- Continuing Detention Orders (CDOs)
- Ending illegal logging
- Giving approval for mining in the Liverpool Plains
- Implementing refugee and protection conventions
- Increasing accessibility of government data and documents
- Increasing fishing restrictions
- Increasing funding for legal aid
- Increasing funding for university education
- Increasing government support for the dairy industry
- Increasing investment in the coal industry
- Increasing political transparency
- Increasing surveillance powers
- Increasing transparency of big business by making information public
- Letting environmental groups challenge the legality of certain government decisions
- Live animal export
- Offshore oil mining
- Preventative Detention Orders (PDOs)
- Protecting Australian sovereignty in trade agreements
- Re-approving/ re-registering agvet chemicals
- Regional processing of asylum seekers
- Storing all citizens' telecommunications data for access by government agencies
- The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme
- Unconventional gas mining
- Uranium export
Voted a mixture of for and against
- Banning all investment in cluster munitions
- Banning new thermal coal mines
- Buffer zones around abortion clinics
- Building community climate change resilience
- Closing the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians
- Creating a federal Anti-Corruption Commission
- Decreasing availability of welfare payments
- Encouraging Australian-based industry
- Equal treatment for all couples
- Funding the national school chaplaincy program
- Government action on animal & plant extinctions
- Greater public scrutiny of the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations
- Increasing Aboriginal land rights
- Increasing housing affordability
- Increasing investment in renewable energy
- Increasing marine conservation
- Increasing parliamentary entitlements for current MPs and Senators
- Increasing protection of Australia's fresh water
- Increasing scrutiny of asylum seeker management
- Maintaining or increasing CSIRO funding
- Offshore processing for people seeking asylum in Australia
- Protecting citizens' privacy
- Protecting whales within Australian waters
- Refugee family reunification
- Speeding things along in Parliament (procedural)
- Suspending the rules to allow a vote to happen (procedural)
- Targeting foreign interference in Australia
- Treating government action on climate change as a matter of urgency
- Universal access to abortion services
Voted moderately against
- A fast transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy
- A review of parliamentary entitlements
- Changing the date of Australia Day
- Drug testing welfare recipients
- Ending immigration detention on Manus Island
- Ending immigration detention on Nauru
- For increasing the Youth Allowance rate
- Government administered paid parental leave
- Increasing federal government support for childcare
- Increasing freedom of political communication
- Increasing funding for vocational education
- Increasing or removing the Government debt limit
- Increasing the Newstart Allowance rate
- Increasing transparency of the China-Australia relationship
- Local community consultation on infrastructure projects
- Making more water from Murray-Darling Basin available to use
- More scrutiny of intelligence services & police
- Protecting threatened forest and bushland habitats
- Public transport
- Putting welfare payments onto restricted debit cards (known as cashless debit cards)
- Reducing air pollution
- Restricting donations to political parties
- Restricting foreign ownership
- Stopping tax avoidance or aggressive tax minimisation
- Strengthening gun control laws
- The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA)
- The Coalition's Youth Jobs PaTH
- The right to protest
Voted strongly against
- A review of our representatives' eligibility
- Decreasing ABC and SBS funding
- Getting rid of Sunday and public holiday penalty rates
- Increasing access under Freedom of Information law
- Increasing protection of Aboriginal heritage sites
- Increasing restrictions on gambling
- Landholders' right to say no to mining and gas exploration
- Pill testing
- Prioritising religious freedom
- Privatising government assets
- Protecting the Great Barrier Reef
- Protecting whistleblowers
- Stopping former ministers from taking lobbying positions within five years
- Temporary protection visas
- Tighter means testing of family payments
- Turning back asylum boats when possible
- Voluntary student union fees
- Withdrawing troops from Afghanistan
Voted very strongly against
- A combined Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia
- A same-sex marriage plebiscite
- A travel ban on people from certain countries
- An Australian Building and Construction Commission (ABCC)
- An independent NDIS assessment process
- Building Australia’s new submarine fleet in South Australia
- Changing the wording of section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act
- Charging postgraduate research students fees
- Civil celebrants having the right to refuse to marry same-sex couples
- Community right to say no to nuclear waste disposal sites
- Deregulating undergraduate university fees
- High speed rail on the east coast
- Increasing availability of abortion drugs
- Increasing beef import standards
- Increasing indexation of HECS-HELP debts
- Increasing scrutiny of unions
- Increasing state and territory environmental approval powers
- Increasing the age pension
- Increasing the cost of humanities degrees
- Increasing the foreign aid budget to 0.7% of Gross National Income
- Increasing the initial tax rate for working holiday makers to 15%
- Increasing the initial tax rate for working holiday makers to 19%
- Increasing the passenger movement charge ('PMC')
- Legalising euthanasia
- More scrutiny of the Australian Defence Force
- Nuclear energy
- Political interference in research funding
- Privatising government services
- Reducing the corporate tax rate
- Requiring a warrant to access citizens’ telecommunications records
- Requiring Parliamentary approval of military deployments
- Same-sex marriage equality
- Senate electoral reform
- Stem cell research
- Technology neutral emission reduction targets
- The use of strong encryption technologies
- Using natural resource wealth for the benefit of all Australians
Has never voted on
- A federal inquiry into Queensland government administration
- A publicly accessible foreign ownership register for agricultural land
- An emissions reduction fund
- An inquiry into the Iraq War
- Ending Governor-General allowances for serious misconduct
- Getting rid of the Gold Travel Pass
- Implementing the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody
- Increasing access to the JobKeeper Payment
- Increasing support for the Australian film and TV industry
- Increasing the price of tobacco
- Legalising pepper spray
- MacMines' proposed China Stone coal mine in the Galilee Basin
- Making sanitary items GST-free
- Making the cashless debit card program voluntary
- Mandatory minimum sentences for certain offences
- Paid parental leave equality for stay-at-home mums and dads
- Privatising the ABC
- Putting a time limit on immigration detention
- Reducing personal income tax
- Requiring every native title claimant to sign land use agreements
- Temporary Exclusion Orders
- The Coalition's new schools funding policy ("Gonski 2.0")
- The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement
Please note that our voting records start in 2006.
Rebel votes
Helen Polley has never voted against the majority of their party since February 2006. explain rebellions
Free votes
Helen Polley has taken part in 27 free votes since February 2006. explain “Free Votes”
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edited 14th Sep 2018
Restoring Territory Rights (Assisted Suicide Legislation) Bill 2015 - Second Reading - Agree with the bill's main idea
Helen Polley voted No in this free vote
Not passed by a small majority
No rebellions 92% attendance
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edited 30th Nov 2017
Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill 2017 - Third Reading - Pass the bill
Helen Polley voted No in this free vote
Passed by a modest majority
No rebellions 76% attendance
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edited 23rd Dec 2017
Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill 2017 - in Committee - Religious versus civil marriage celebrants
Helen Polley voted Yes in this free vote
Passed by a modest majority
No rebellions 74% attendance
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edited 23rd Dec 2017
Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill 2017 - in Committee - Authorised marriage celebrant
Helen Polley voted No in this free vote
Not passed by a modest majority
No rebellions 74% attendance
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edited 23rd Dec 2017
Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill 2017 - in Committee - No obligation to solemnise marriage
Helen Polley voted No in this free vote
Not passed by a small majority
No rebellions 79% attendance
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edited 24th Dec 2017
Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill 2017 - in Committee - Civil celebrants' right to refuse
Helen Polley voted No in this free vote
Not passed by a small majority
No rebellions 88% attendance
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edited 24th Dec 2017
Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill 2017 - in Committee - Religious organisations
Helen Polley voted No in this free vote
Not passed by a small majority
No rebellions 89% attendance
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edited 24th Dec 2017
Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill 2017 - in Committee - Charities
Helen Polley voted No in this free vote
Not passed by a small majority
No rebellions 88% attendance
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edited 29th Dec 2017
Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill 2017 - in Committee - Defence chaplains
Helen Polley voted No in this free vote
Not passed by a modest majority
No rebellions 86% attendance
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edited 29th Dec 2017
Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill 2017 - in Committee - "Freedom" amendments
Helen Polley voted No in this free vote
Not passed by a modest majority
No rebellions 89% attendance
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edited 29th Dec 2017
Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill 2017 - in Committee - Religious marriage celebrants
Helen Polley voted Yes in this free vote
Passed by a small majority
No rebellions 92% attendance
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edited 29th Dec 2017
Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Bill 2017 - in Committee - Religious and conscientious protection
Helen Polley voted No in this free vote
Not passed by a small majority
No rebellions 92% attendance
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edited 24th Oct 2014
Marriage Act Amendment (Recognition of Foreign Marriages for Same-Sex Couples) Bill 2013 - Second Reading - Agree with bill's main idea
Helen Polley voted No in this free vote
Not passed by a small majority
1 rebellion 95% attendance
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edited 7th Oct 2014
Marriage Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2012 - Second Reading - Read a second time
Helen Polley voted No in this free vote
Not passed by a small majority
No rebellions 88% attendance
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edited 16th Sep 2016
Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction and the Regulation of Human Embryo Research Amendment Bill 2006 - Third Reading - Read a third time DUPLICATE
Helen Polley voted No in this free vote
Passed by a small majority
No rebellions 87% attendance
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edited 7th Oct 2014
Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction and the Regulation of Human Embryo Research Amendment Bill 2006 - Third Reading - Read a third time
Helen Polley voted No in this free vote
Passed by a small majority
No rebellions 87% attendance
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edited 10th Oct 2014
Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction and the Regulation of Human Embryo Research Amendment Bill 2006 - In Committee - 15 day warrant duration
Helen Polley voted No in this free vote
Passed by a small majority
No rebellions 83% attendance
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edited 10th Oct 2014
Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction and the Regulation of Human Embryo Research Amendment Bill 2006 - In Committee - Increase penalties to 15 years
Helen Polley voted No in this free vote
Passed by a small majority
No rebellions 84% attendance
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edited 7th Oct 2014
Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction and the Regulation of Human Embryo Research Amendment Bill 2006 - In Committee - National Stem Cell Bank
Helen Polley voted No in this free vote
Not passed by a small majority
No rebellions 84% attendance
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edited 7th Oct 2014
Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction and the Regulation of Human Embryo Research Amendment Bill 2006 - In Committee - Deposit of stem cell samples
Helen Polley voted No in this free vote
Not passed by a small majority
No rebellions 80% attendance
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edited 7th Oct 2014
Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction and the Regulation of Human Embryo Research Amendment Bill 2006 - In Committee - Public health benefit
Helen Polley voted No in this free vote
Not passed by a large majority
No rebellions 78% attendance
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edited 7th Oct 2014
Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction and the Regulation of Human Embryo Research Amendment Bill 2006 - Second Reading - Read a second time
Helen Polley voted No in this free vote
Passed by a small majority
No rebellions 86% attendance
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edited 7th Oct 2014
Therapeutic Goods Amendment (Repeal of Ministerial Responsibility for Approval of Ru486) Bill 2005 - Third Reading - Read a third time
Helen Polley voted No in this free vote
Passed by a small majority
No rebellions 96% attendance
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edited 7th Oct 2014
Therapeutic Goods Amendment (Repeal of Ministerial Responsibility for Approval of Ru486) Bill 2005 - In Committee - Amend the current process
Helen Polley voted Yes in this free vote
Not passed by a small majority
No rebellions 97% attendance
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edited 7th Oct 2014
Therapeutic Goods Amendment (Repeal of Ministerial Responsibility for Approval of Ru486) Bill 2005 - In Committee - Amend the current process
Helen Polley voted Yes in this free vote
Not passed by a small majority
No rebellions 95% attendance
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edited 7th Oct 2014
Therapeutic Goods Amendment (Repeal of Ministerial Responsibility for Approval of Ru486) Bill 2005 - Second Reading - Read a second time
Helen Polley voted No in this free vote
Passed by a small majority
No rebellions 93% attendance
Recent Votes
Recent votes in parliament that this Senator could have attended.
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Business — Senate Temporary Orders
Helen Polley was absent
Passed by a modest majority
No rebellions 67% attendance
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edited 28 days ago
Water Legislation Amendment (Inspector-General of Water Compliance and Other Measures) Bill 2021 - Consideration of House of Representatives Message - Don't insist on amendments
Helen Polley was absent
Passed by a modest majority
No rebellions 61% attendance
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edited 28 days ago
Water Legislation Amendment (Inspector-General of Water Compliance and Other Measures) Bill 2021 - Consideration of House of Representatives Message - Dissent from ruling
Helen Polley was absent
Not passed by a modest majority
No rebellions 59% attendance
Possible Friends
Shows which Senators voted most similarly to this one in the 2004-2007 Parliament. This is measured from 0% agreement (never voted the same) to 100% (always voted the same). Only votes that both Senators attended are counted. This may reveal relationships between Senators that were previously unsuspected. Or it may be nonsense.
| Agreement | Name | State | Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| 98% | John Hogg | Queensland | whilst Deputy President |
| 97% | Mark Furner | Queensland | Australian Labor Party |
| 97% | Matt Thistlethwaite | NSW | Australian Labor Party |
| 97% | Dana Wortley | SA | Australian Labor Party |
| 97% | Louise Pratt | WA | Australian Labor Party |