Summary

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The majority voted in favour of a motion to pass the bill in the Senate. In parliamentary jargon, they voted to read it for a third time. This means that the bill will now be sent back to the House of Representatives, where our MPs will decide on whether they agree with the amendment made by the Senate. If so, the bill will become law.

What does this bill do?

According to the bills digest (a document put together by the parliamentary library):

The purpose of the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Misuse of Market Power) Bill 2016 (the Bill) is to amend the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA) to reflect the Government’s acceptance of certain recommendations of the Competition Policy Review (the Harper Review). Specifically, the Bill introduces changes to section 46 of the CCA which relates to the misuse of market power, namely:

  • removing the ‘take advantage’ and ‘proscribed purposes’ aspects of the current law

  • removing explicit references to predatory pricing

  • introducing a ‘conduct’ test and a ‘purpose, effect, or likely effect’ test

  • introducing a ‘substantially lessening competition’ test

  • amending the scope of the markets that misuse of market power is to be subject to

  • introducing a set of pro-competitive and anti-competitive mandatory factors for courts to apply.

The Bill also repeals Divisions 2 and 3 of Part XIB of the CCA which deal with telecommunications-specific anti‑competitive conduct, as a consequence of amending section 46.

Votes Passed by a modest majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Cory Bernardi SA Australian Conservatives Yes
Australian Greens (100% turnout) 7 Yes 0 No
Richard Di Natale Victoria Yes
Sarah Hanson-Young SA Yes
Nick McKim Tasmania Yes
Lee Rhiannon NSW Yes
Janet Rice Victoria Yes
Rachel Siewert WA Yes
Peter Whish-Wilson Tasmania Yes
Australian Labor Party (68% turnout) 0 Yes 17 No
Catryna Bilyk Tasmania No
Anthony Chisholm Queensland No
Patrick Dodson WA No
Alex Gallacher SA No
Katy Gallagher ACT No
Chris Ketter Queensland No
Kimberley Kitching Victoria No
Gavin Marshall Victoria No
Jenny McAllister NSW No
Claire Moore Queensland No
Deborah O'Neill NSW No
Helen Polley Tasmania No
Louise Pratt WA No
Lisa Singh Tasmania No
Glenn Sterle WA No
Anne Urquhart Tasmania No
Murray Watt Queensland No
Carol Brown Tasmania Absent
Doug Cameron NSW Absent
Kim Carr Victoria Absent
Jacinta Collins Victoria Absent
Sam Dastyari NSW Absent
Don Farrell SA Absent
Malarndirri McCarthy NT Absent
Penny Wong SA Absent
Nigel Scullion NT Country Liberal Party Yes
Derryn Hinch Victoria Derryn Hinch's Justice Party Yes
Sue Lines WA Deputy President No
Lucy Gichuhi SA Independent Yes
Jacqui Lambie Tasmania Independent Yes
David Leyonhjelm NSW Liberal Democratic Party No
Liberal National Party (50% turnout) 1 Yes 0 No
James McGrath Queensland Yes
Matthew Canavan Queensland Absent
Liberal Party (80% turnout) 16 Yes 0 No
Simon Birmingham SA Yes
David Bushby Tasmania Yes
Michaelia Cash WA Yes
Mathias Cormann WA Yes
Jonathon Duniam Tasmania Yes
David Fawcett SA Yes
Concetta Fierravanti-Wells NSW Yes
Mitch Fifield Victoria Yes
Jane Hume Victoria Yes
Ian Macdonald Queensland Yes
James Paterson Victoria Yes
Marise Payne NSW Yes
Linda Reynolds WA Yes
Anne Ruston SA Yes
Arthur Sinodinos NSW Yes
Dean Smith WA Yes
Eric Abetz Tasmania Absent
George Brandis Queensland Absent
Scott Ryan Victoria Absent
Zed Seselja ACT 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 Team (100% turnout) 3 Yes 0 No
Stirling Griff SA Yes
Skye Kakoschke-Moore SA Yes
Nick Xenophon SA Yes
Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party (100% turnout) 4 Yes 0 No
Brian Burston NSW Yes
Peter Georgiou WA Yes
Pauline Hanson Queensland Yes
Malcolm Roberts Queensland Yes
Stephen Parry Tasmania President Yes
Totals (82% turnout) 41 Yes – 19 No