The majority voted in favour of a motion that the bill be read a second time.(Read more about the stages that a bill must pass through to become law here. ) This means that the majority agree with the main idea of the bill and that the Senate can now consider the bill in more detail.
Background to the bill
In the 2013 election campaign, the Coalition said that it would be an infrastructure-focused government and committed to finding ways to encourage the private sector to become more involved in infrastructure financing. This bill reflects that commitment by amending the Nation Building Program (National Land Transport) Act 2009 ('the Act') to allow partnerships and non-corporate Commonwealth entities, such as public private partnerships, to be funded. The bill also renames the Act to the National Land Transport Act 2014 and continues the Roads to Recovery Programme after 30 June 2014, when it is currently scheduled to end.(Read more about the bill in the bills digest.)