Mehmet Tillem voted moderately for a carbon price

The majority voted against a motion to read the bill for a second time.(Read more about this division in the Australian. )

This means that the majority of senators disagree with the main idea of the bill, which was to abolish the Climate Change Authority, and that the bill has been rejected.

Background to the motion

The Climate Change Authority (Abolition) Bill 2013 was introduced to abolish the Climate Change Authority ('CCA'), which was established by the Labor government to provide independent advice on Australia’s emissions reduction targets, and other Australian Government climate change initiatives.(Read more about the CCA on its website here. It was created by the Climate Change Authority Bill 2011. )

Abolishing the CCA is a key Coalition policy.(Read more in the media.)

The majority voted in favour of a motion introduced by Labor Senator Louise Pratt that:

At the end of the motion to read the bill for a second time, add: “, but the Senate expresses concern over the impact of the abolition of the Climate Change Authority on the provision of independent advice to Government and the public on carbon pollution reduction targets and actions.”

This amendment doesn't change the effect of the amended motion and so is more of a symbolic move to show the majority of senator's dissatisfaction with the Climate Change Authority (Abolition) Bill 2013.

Background to the motion

This bill was introduced to abolish the Climate Change Authority ('CCA'), which was established by the Labor government to provide independent advice on Australia’s emissions reduction targets, and other Australian Government climate change initiatives.(Read more about the CCA on its website here. It was created by the Climate Change Authority Bill 2011. )

Abolishing the CCA is a key Coalition policy.(Read more in the media.)

The majority voted in favour of a motion introduced by Greens Senator Christine Milne, which was:

That the Senate—

(a) supports the Tasmanian Government's Climate Smart strategy(Read more about this strategy on the Tasmanian Department of Premier and Cabinet website here and in the media here.) which aims to achieve 100 per cent renewable production and a 35 per cent cut in emissions on 1990 levels by 2020; and

(b) condemns the Abbott Government's attempts to repeal the carbon price, which will remove up to $70 million per year from Hydro Tasmania and dividend payments to the Tasmanian budget.

The majority voted against a motion that the bills be considered together.

This means that each of the eleven bills will have to be considered separately.

The eleven bills are a package to remove the carbon pricing mechanism, which was introduced by the Australian Labor Party while in government. The Coalition described the mechanism as a “carbon tax” and removing it was a key policy platform during the 2013 election.(You can read more about the Coalition's policy to remove the carbon price here. )

The eleven bills are:

• Clean Energy Legislation (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2013
• True-up Shortfall Levy (General) (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2013
• True-up Shortfall Levy (Excise) (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2013
• Customs Tariff Amendment (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2013
• Excise Tariff Amendment (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2013
• Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Import Levy) Amendment (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2013
• Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Manufacture Levy) Amendment (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2013
• Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Import Levy) (Transitional Provisions) Bill 2013
• Climate Change Authority (Abolition) Bill 2013
• Clean Energy (Income Tax Rates and Other Amendments) Bill 2013
• Clean Energy Finance Corporation (Abolition) Bill 2013

Background to the bills

The carbon pricing mechanism commenced on 1 July 2012.(For more information on the carbon pricing mechanism and how it works, please see the Clean Energy Regulator’s website.) It is an emissions trading scheme that puts a price on carbon emissions. It applies to “liable entities” (a group that includes companies that emit a high level of greenhouse gases). Initially the price of carbon is fixed by the mechanism but from 1 July 2015 the price will be set by the market, though the Labor Government did announce plans to bring this forward to 1 July 2014 just before they were defeated by the Coalition in the 2013 election.