How the Independents have voted in the House

The Third Session of the 43rd Parliament finished on 7 July 2011.

The Government has maintained its successful record of gaining support from the Independents on significant pieces of legislation requiring a division over the course of this Parliament so far, gaining a majority in 93% of divisions on substantive matters. To date, the Government has lost only one division on a piece of legislation, which was in February 2011:

  • Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (Public Health and Safety) Amendment Bill 2010 second reading. Adam Bandt, Robert Oakeshott and Andrew Wilkie voted with the Government, while Tony Crook, Bob Katter and Tony Windsor voted against.

In the 43rd Parliament so far, the Government has successfully passed 163 pieces of legislation through the Lower House. In the most recent winter sitting period, the Parliament has passed six important pieces of legislation:

  1. Sex and Age Discrimination Legislation Amendment Act 2011 – strengthens protections against sex discrimination and sexual harassment.
  2. Electronic Transactions Amendment Act 2011 – updates the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 to reflect internationally recognised standards on electronic commerce and ensure Australian electronic commerce laws keep pace with technological change.
  3. Acts Interpretation Amendment Act 2011 – makes it easier for people to understand and interpret Commonwealth legislation.
  4. Personal Property Securities (Corporations and Other Amendments) Act 2011 – makes the final set of amendments to the Personal Property Securities Act legislation prior to the Personal Property Securities regime coming into effect later this year.
  5. Trans-Tasman Proceedings Amendment and Other Measures Act 2011 – refines the legislative regime implementing the 2008 agreement between Australia and New Zealand on trans-Tasman Proceedings and Regulatory Enforcement which will simply and streamline civil legal cooperation between the two countries. The scheme is likely to commence early 2012.
  6. Intelligence Services Legislation Amendment Bill 2011 – ensures that Australia’s security and intelligence agencies are adequately equipped to respond to threats to our national security.

Graphs showing the outcome of votes where a division was required from 29 September 2010 to 7 July 2011, along with voting records for each Independent, are available here.

A table showing all the divisions from 29 September to 7 July, with a brief description of the legislation or motion, number of pairs and how each independent voted is available here.

Note pairs are agreed to by party whips on each day of voting.

Hawker Britton’s previous analysis covering September to March is available here, with earlier analysis from September to November 2010 available here.

For more information on each division go to House of Representatives Votes and Proceedings here.