edited
9th Oct 2014
Clean Energy Legislation (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2014 and related bills — Second Reading — Put the Greens amendment
Passed by a small majority
No rebellions 91% attendance
17th Jul 2014, 10:24 AM – Senate Clean Energy Legislation (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2014 — In Committee — Keep schedules 2 to 4
Summary
EditThe majority voted in favour of a motion "that schedules 2 to 4 stand as printed", which means that the schedules will remain unchanged. Deputy-President Gavin Marshall put this motion to the Senate after Labor Senator Lisa Singh moved an amendment to oppose those schedules.
Schedule 2 "prohibit[s] carbon tax-related price exploitation and false or misleading representations". Schedule 3 "repeals the conservation tillage tax offset". Schedule 4 "repeals the Steel Transformation Plan Act 2011".(Read more about these schedules in the explanatory memorandum. )
Background to the bills
The Clean Energy Legislation (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2014 and related bills were introduced to repeal 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 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.
This is the third time that this package of bills have been introduced. The first time, they were rejected in the Senate during the third reading stage.(See that division here. ) The second time, they were rejected in the Senate during the committee stage.(See that division here. Read more about this second rejection of this package of bills on ABC News here or on the World Today here.)
The bills included in this package are the following:
- Clean Energy Legislation (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2014
- True-up Shortfall Levy (General) (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2014
- True-up Shortfall Levy (Excise) (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2014
- Customs Tariff Amendment (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2014
- Excise Tariff Amendment (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2014
- Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Import Levy) Amendment (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2014
- Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Manufacture Levy) Amendment (Carbon Tax Repeal) Bill 2014
- Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Import Levy) (Transitional Provisions) Bill 2014
Votes Passed by a small majority
Nobody rebelled against their party.
| Party | Votes | |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Greens (100% turnout) | 0 Yes – 10 No | |
| Richard Di Natale Victoria | No | |
| Sarah Hanson-Young SA | No | |
| Scott Ludlam WA | No | |
| Christine Milne Tasmania | No | |
| Lee Rhiannon NSW | No | |
| Janet Rice Victoria | No | |
| Rachel Siewert WA | No | |
| Larissa Waters Queensland | No | |
| Peter Whish-Wilson Tasmania | No | |
| Penny Wright SA | No | |
| Australian Labor Party (92% turnout) | 0 Yes – 22 No | |
| Catryna Bilyk Tasmania | No | |
| Carol Brown Tasmania | No | |
| Joe Bullock WA | No | |
| Doug Cameron NSW | No | |
| Kim Carr Victoria | No | |
| Jacinta Collins Victoria | No | |
| Stephen Conroy Victoria | No | |
| Sam Dastyari NSW | No | |
| John Faulkner NSW | No | |
| Alex Gallacher SA | No | |
| Chris Ketter Queensland | No | |
| Sue Lines WA | No | |
| Joe Ludwig Queensland | No | |
| Anne McEwen SA | No | |
| Jan McLucas Queensland | No | |
| Claire Moore Queensland | No | |
| Deborah O'Neill NSW | No | |
| Nova Peris NT | No | |
| Helen Polley Tasmania | No | |
| Lisa Singh Tasmania | No | |
| Glenn Sterle WA | No | |
| Anne Urquhart Tasmania | No | |
| Kate Lundy ACT | Absent | |
| Penny Wong SA | Absent | |
| Ricky Muir Victoria Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party | Yes | |
| Nigel Scullion NT Country Liberal Party | Yes | |
| John Madigan Victoria Democratic Labor Party | Yes | |
| Gavin Marshall Victoria Deputy President | No | |
| Bob Day SA Family First Party | Yes | |
| David Leyonhjelm NSW Liberal Democratic Party | Yes | |
| Liberal National Party (100% turnout) | 2 Yes – 0 No | |
| Matthew Canavan Queensland | Yes | |
| James McGrath Queensland | Yes | |
| Liberal Party (92% turnout) | 23 Yes – 0 No | |
| Christopher Back WA | Yes | |
| Cory Bernardi SA | Yes | |
| Simon Birmingham SA | Yes | |
| George Brandis Queensland | Yes | |
| David Bushby Tasmania | Yes | |
| Michaelia Cash WA | Yes | |
| Richard Colbeck Tasmania | Yes | |
| Mathias Cormann WA | Yes | |
| Sean Edwards SA | Yes | |
| David Fawcett SA | Yes | |
| Concetta Fierravanti-Wells NSW | Yes | |
| Mitch Fifield Victoria | Yes | |
| Bill Heffernan NSW | Yes | |
| Ian Macdonald Queensland | Yes | |
| Brett Mason Queensland | Yes | |
| Marise Payne NSW | Yes | |
| Linda Reynolds WA | Yes | |
| Michael Ronaldson Victoria | Yes | |
| Anne Ruston SA | Yes | |
| Scott Ryan Victoria | Yes | |
| Zed Seselja ACT | Yes | |
| Arthur Sinodinos NSW | Yes | |
| Dean Smith WA | Yes | |
| Eric Abetz Tasmania | Absent | |
| David Johnston WA | Absent | |
| National Party (100% turnout) | 4 Yes – 0 No | |
| Bridget McKenzie Victoria | Yes | |
| Fiona Nash NSW | Yes | |
| Barry O'Sullivan Queensland | Yes | |
| John Williams NSW | Yes | |
| Nick Xenophon SA Nick Xenophon Team | Absent | |
| Palmer United Party (100% turnout) | 3 Yes – 0 No | |
| Jacqui Lambie Tasmania | Yes | |
| Glenn Lazarus Queensland | Yes | |
| Dio Wang WA | Yes | |
| Stephen Parry Tasmania President | Yes | |
| Totals (93% turnout) | 38 Yes – 33 No |
Turnout is the percentage of members eligible to vote that did vote.