Summary

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The majority voted against an amendment to the usual second reading motion "that the bill be read for a second time" (which is parliamentary jargon for agreeing with the main idea of the bill). This mean that the amendment failed.

This amendment was introduced by WA Senator Rachel Siewert (Greens) and, if it had been successful, its text would have been added to the usual second reading motion as a note. In other words, it didn't seek to change the actual text of the bills.

Senator Siewert explained the rationale behind her amendment in her contribution to the debate.

Amendment text

At the end of the motion, add ", but the Senate:

(a) is of the opinion that the Government's response to COVID-19 continues to see large sections of our population left behind and disproportionately affected by this health and economic crisis;

(b) calls on the Government to:

(i) provide proper support to at least the following groups:

(A) Disability Support Pension recipients, carers, and age pensioners who receive Commonwealth Rent Assistance, none of whom will be eligible for the $550 a fortnight COVID-19 supplement and will be trapped beneath the poverty line,

(B) First Nations peoples who are at severe risk of harm from COVID-19 and urgently need adequate personal protective equipment and access to safe housing,

(C) disabled people, who must have guaranteed continuity of essential disability supports, and have equal access to healthcare to ensure their human rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities are upheld,

(D) those for whom isolation presents a heightened risk of domestic and family violence,

(E) people in Australia who are not Australian citizens or permanent residents, including asylum seekers on temporary protection visas, people who hold temporary work or skilled visas, international students, people who hold working holiday visas, tourists, New Zealand citizens on non-protected Special Category Visas, and permanent resident applicants backlogged in processing queues who do not all have access to work, income support, or Medicare,

(F) LGBTIQ+ people who experience poorer mental health outcomes, and experience discrimination in accessing crisis services,

(G) regional and remote communities who have poorer health outcomes and limited access to basic health services,

(H) people experiencing homelessness, and people facing rental and mortgage stress, who still are yet to see any solution to the homelessness, residential rent and mortgage crisis, and

(I) local government employees, who provide essential community services such as childcare, health facilities, and libraries, and have been left out of JobKeeper,

(ii) enable people to work from home and to maintain social connection by ensuring that no one is cut off from internet services including the NBN,

(iii) provide much needed extra financial support to specialist frontline domestic and family violence support services and crisis accommodation to meet additional demand during this crisis,

(iv) provide much needed extra financial support to those industries hardest hit, including tourism, hospitality, and the arts and entertainment sector,

(v) reverse funding cuts and lifts the freeze on indexation imposed on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation so that it can deliver timely, accurate and reliable advice to the public during this period,

(vi) guarantee that mutual obligation requirements will continue to be suspended until the crisis is over to protect the health and safety of all people on income support payments and employment service providers,

(vii) permanently increase the Jobseeker Payment, Youth Allowance, AUSTUDY and ABSTUDY after the crisis is over to ensure people on income support payments are not dropped below the poverty line,

(viii) look to repay debts to robodebt victims once the crisis is over,

(ix) ensure Centrelink has adequate IT infrastructure and capacity and is appropriately staffed to guarantee Australians can get quick and efficient access to Centrelink, and

(x) immediately ensure eviction bans are enshrined in law right across the country so that renters have security, as well as giving rent holidays to those who need them; and

(c) is of the opinion that given the gaps already identified in the Government response to COVID-19, some of which the Government has subsequently fixed in response to community and parliamentary pressure, that proper and comprehensive parliamentary oversight of the Government response to COVID-19 is necessary to ensure that no one is left behind".

Votes Not passed by a large majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Australian Greens (33% turnout) 3 Yes 0 No
Rachel Siewert WA Yes
Larissa Waters Queensland Yes
Peter Whish-Wilson Tasmania Yes
Richard Di Natale Victoria Absent
Mehreen Faruqi NSW Absent
Sarah Hanson-Young SA Absent
Nick McKim Tasmania Absent
Janet Rice Victoria Absent
Jordon Steele-John WA Absent
Australian Labor Party (28% turnout) 0 Yes 7 No
Raff Ciccone Victoria No
Katy Gallagher ACT No
Kristina Keneally NSW No
Kimberley Kitching Victoria No
Anne Urquhart Tasmania No
Jess Walsh Victoria No
Penny Wong SA No
Tim Ayres NSW Absent
Catryna Bilyk Tasmania Absent
Carol Brown Tasmania Absent
Kim Carr Victoria Absent
Anthony Chisholm Queensland Absent
Patrick Dodson WA Absent
Don Farrell SA Absent
Alex Gallacher SA Absent
Nita Green Queensland Absent
Jenny McAllister NSW Absent
Malarndirri McCarthy NT Absent
Deborah O'Neill NSW Absent
Helen Polley Tasmania Absent
Louise Pratt WA Absent
Tony Sheldon NSW Absent
Marielle Smith SA Absent
Glenn Sterle WA Absent
Murray Watt Queensland Absent
Centre Alliance (50% turnout) 1 Yes 0 No
Rex Patrick SA Yes
Stirling Griff SA Absent
Sam McMahon NT Country Liberal Party Absent
Sue Lines WA Deputy President No
Jacqui Lambie Tasmania Jacqui Lambie Network Absent
Liberal National Party (50% turnout) 0 Yes 1 No
James McGrath Queensland No
Matthew Canavan Queensland Absent
Liberal Party (55% turnout) 0 Yes 16 No
Simon Birmingham SA No
Slade Brockman WA No
Michaelia Cash WA No
Richard Colbeck Tasmania No
Mathias Cormann WA No
Jonathon Duniam Tasmania No
Concetta Fierravanti-Wells NSW No
Jane Hume Victoria No
Jim Molan NSW No
James Paterson Victoria No
Marise Payne NSW No
Linda Reynolds WA No
Anne Ruston SA No
Paul Scarr Queensland No
Zed Seselja ACT No
Dean Smith WA No
Eric Abetz Tasmania Absent
Alex Antic SA Absent
Wendy Askew Tasmania Absent
Andrew Bragg NSW Absent
Claire Chandler Tasmania Absent
David Fawcett SA Absent
Sarah Henderson Victoria Absent
Hollie Hughes NSW Absent
Andrew McLachlan SA Absent
Matt O'Sullivan WA Absent
Gerard Rennick Queensland Absent
Amanda Stoker Queensland Absent
David Van Victoria Absent
National Party (67% turnout) 0 Yes 2 No
Perin Davey NSW No
Bridget McKenzie Victoria No
Susan McDonald Queensland Absent
Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party (50% turnout) 0 Yes 1 No
Malcolm Roberts Queensland No
Pauline Hanson Queensland Absent
Scott Ryan Victoria President No
Totals (43% turnout) 4 Yes – 29 No