edited
7th Oct 2014
Water Amendment (Water for the Environment Special Account) Bill 2012 - Consideration in Detail - 450 Gigalitres
Passed by a small majority
No rebellions 89% attendance
7th Feb 2013, 12:38 PM – Senate Water Amendment (Water for the Environment Special Account) Bill 2012 - In Committee - Buyback cap
Summary
EditThe majority voted against a Nationals amendment introduced by Senator Barnaby Joyce, the Leader of the Nationals in the Senate.
The amendment would have inserted a new section 86AEA, titled "Limit on purchase of water access rights". This new section stated: The total amount of water access rights purchased by, or on behalf of, the Commonwealth since 2009, whether with amounts debited from the Water for the Environment Special Account or otherwise for the purposes of the Basin Plan, must not exceed 1500 gigalitres.
Senator Joyce explained that this amendment "is about reinforcing the coalition's strong belief in the buyback cap",(See Senator Joyce's full explanation of the amendment and the associated debate here. The amendment is referred to as Nationals amendment (4) on sheet 7336 and the relevant discussion began at 12:31 pm. ) which was also reflected by an earlier Nationals amendment moved by Senator Joyce.(That amendment is available here. ) According to the Department of the Environment website: "Water buybacks obtain water for the environment from irrigators who offer their water entitlement for sale".(That website is available here. )
Background to the bill
The bill(A copy of the bill, its explanatory memoranda and amendments are available here. ) was introduced to establish an Environment Special Account to fund projects that protect and restore environmental assets of the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) and protect water dependent biodiversity of the MDB.(Read more about the bill in this bills digest (696 KB).) The projects will include those that increase the available environmental water in the MDB by 450 Gigalitres.
References
Votes Not passed by a small majority
Nobody rebelled against their party.
| Party | Votes | |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Greens (100% turnout) | 0 Yes – 9 No | |
| Richard Di Natale Victoria | No | |
| Sarah Hanson-Young SA | No | |
| Scott Ludlam WA | No | |
| Christine Milne Tasmania | No | |
| Lee Rhiannon NSW | No | |
| Rachel Siewert WA | No | |
| Larissa Waters Queensland | No | |
| Peter Whish-Wilson Tasmania | No | |
| Penny Wright SA | No | |
| Australian Labor Party (80% turnout) | 0 Yes – 24 No | |
| Catryna Bilyk Tasmania | No | |
| Mark Bishop WA | No | |
| Carol Brown Tasmania | No | |
| Doug Cameron NSW | No | |
| Bob Carr NSW | No | |
| Jacinta Collins Victoria | No | |
| Trish Crossin NT | No | |
| Chris Evans WA | No | |
| Don Farrell SA | No | |
| David Feeney Victoria | No | |
| Mark Furner Queensland | No | |
| Alex Gallacher SA | No | |
| Joe Ludwig Queensland | No | |
| Gavin Marshall Victoria | No | |
| Anne McEwen SA | No | |
| Jan McLucas Queensland | No | |
| Claire Moore Queensland | No | |
| Helen Polley Tasmania | No | |
| Louise Pratt WA | No | |
| Lisa Singh Tasmania | No | |
| Glenn Sterle WA | No | |
| Matt Thistlethwaite NSW | No | |
| Lin Thorp Tasmania | No | |
| Anne Urquhart Tasmania | No | |
| Kim Carr Victoria | Absent | |
| Stephen Conroy Victoria | Absent | |
| John Faulkner NSW | Absent | |
| Kate Lundy ACT | Absent | |
| Ursula Stephens NSW | Absent | |
| Penny Wong SA | Absent | |
| Nigel Scullion NT Country Liberal Party | Yes | |
| John Madigan Victoria Democratic Labor Party | Yes | |
| Stephen Parry Tasmania Deputy President | Yes | |
| Nick Xenophon SA Independent | No | |
| Liberal Party (81% turnout) | 22 Yes – 0 No | |
| Christopher Back WA | Yes | |
| Cory Bernardi SA | Yes | |
| Simon Birmingham SA | Yes | |
| Sue Boyce Queensland | Yes | |
| George Brandis Queensland | Yes | |
| David Bushby Tasmania | Yes | |
| Michaelia Cash WA | Yes | |
| Richard Colbeck Tasmania | Yes | |
| Sean Edwards SA | Yes | |
| Alan Eggleston WA | Yes | |
| David Fawcett SA | Yes | |
| Concetta Fierravanti-Wells NSW | Yes | |
| Mitch Fifield Victoria | Yes | |
| Bill Heffernan NSW | Yes | |
| David Johnston WA | Yes | |
| Helen Kroger Victoria | Yes | |
| Ian Macdonald Queensland | Yes | |
| Brett Mason Queensland | Yes | |
| Marise Payne NSW | Yes | |
| Anne Ruston SA | Yes | |
| Scott Ryan Victoria | Yes | |
| Dean Smith WA | Yes | |
| Eric Abetz Tasmania | Absent | |
| Mathias Cormann WA | Absent | |
| Gary Humphries ACT | Absent | |
| Michael Ronaldson Victoria | Absent | |
| Arthur Sinodinos NSW | Absent | |
| National Party (80% turnout) | 4 Yes – 0 No | |
| Barnaby Joyce Queensland | Yes | |
| Bridget McKenzie Victoria | Yes | |
| Fiona Nash NSW | Yes | |
| John Williams NSW | Yes | |
| Ron Boswell Queensland | Absent | |
| John Hogg Queensland President | No | |
| Totals (84% turnout) | 29 Yes – 35 No |
Turnout is the percentage of members eligible to vote that did vote.