Photo of Mehmet Tillem

Mehmet Tillem voted a mixture of for and against increasing scrutiny of asylum seeker management

How Mehmet Tillem voted compared to someone who believes that there should be more independent access to detention centres and more information provided about the management of asylum seekers under Australian government policy, including the interception of boats at sea

Division Mehmet Tillem Supporters vote Division outcome

19th Jun 2014, 12:30 PM – Senate Committees - World Refugee Day - Transparency

Show detail

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, which means the motion failed. The motion called for more transparency over the Australian asylum seeker processing system.

Motion text

That the Senate—

(a) acknowledges that 20 June 2014 is World Refugee Day, when all nations recognise the resilience and humanity of forcibly displaced people around the world;

(b) notes the vast and positive contribution that refugees have made and continue to make to Australian society;

(c) reaffirms Australia's strong commitment to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol in recognition of the need to restore hope to those seeking protection in our region; and

(d) calls on the Government to:

(ii) be more transparent and open about the conditions and circumstances experienced by asylum seekers in immigration detention centres controlled by the Australian Government,

(ii) establish independent and systematic monitoring of sites of immigration detention, and

(iii) take steps to prevent further incidents and improve safety and conditions for asylum seekers in immigration detention centres.

 No Yes (strong) Not passed by a modest majority

9th Dec 2013, 4:21 PM – Senate Motions - Asylum Seekers - UNHCR reports into Nauru and Manus Island

Show detail

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, which is:

That the Senate calls on the Minister assisting the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection (Senator Cash) to:

(a) provide a statement to the Senate on the United Nations High Commission for Refugees report into the conditions in the Nauru and Manus Island detention centres by Wednesday, 11 December 2013; and(Read the report on Nauru here and the report on Manus Island here. You can also read about the reports in the media here.)

(b) explain to the Senate how the Government intends to respond and action the recommendations made by the reports respectively.

 No Yes Not passed by a modest majority

5th Dec 2013, 12:47 PM – Senate Documents - Asylum Seekers; Order for the Production of Documents

Show detail

This is a vote on a motion put by Labor Senator McEwen requesting that

all incident reports, logs, briefings, ministerial notes, internal communications and other reports (excluding any publicly available documents), in relation to the reported incident that took place on Friday, 15 November 2013, involving the towing of an Indonesian vessel near Christmas Island by an Australian Customs, Navy or other government asset or vessel be released.

The majority of MPs voted aye in support of this motion.

 Yes Yes (strong) Passed by a small majority

How "voted a mixture of for and against" 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 1 0 50
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: 50 110

*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 / 110 = 45%.

And then