Jan McLucas (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Hansard source

I thank senators for indicating that they will support this government amendment, but I just want to put on the record my views of what happened prior to this, because I would not like the Hansard to reflect that anything untoward has occurred in the taking of the previous vote. When the committee opened there were no speakers in the chamber on Senator Joyce’s amendment. The chair quite rightly called for a vote to be taken. The chair at that time called the vote for the ayes. Given that we know how people variously around the chamber are going to vote, I then called for a division on the basis that the noes would have it. Opposition senators indicated that a division was not required and, therefore, the division was called off. I would hate others to think that anything untoward occurred in the chamber, given the sensitivity of this issue, particularly in North Queensland. I hope that assists those senators who were not in the chamber because of other committees. I am not at all critical of the fact that we all have other work to do as well as appear in the chamber. I thank senators for their support.