Division
The majority voted in favour of an [amendment](http://www.openaustralia.org.au/senate/?gid=2017-09-13.212.20) introduced by WA Senator [Rachel Siewert](https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/senate/wa/rachel_siewert) (Greens). The amendment changes the second motion text - which is normally "*That these bills be now read a [second time](https://www.peo.gov.au/learning/fact-sheets/making-a-law.html)*" - by adding: > *"but the Senate is of the opinion that all free-to-air television broadcasters should use the financial relief afforded by the reduction in licensing fees to offer audio description services for people who are blind or vision-impaired, and ensure provisioning of captioning services on all broadcast programs aligning thus with the National Disability Strategy 2010-2020, which calls for all broadcast programs to be fully captioned".* This change doesn't have any legal affect - that is, it won't force the Government to do what it asks for. However, it does have political influence in that it represents the will of the Senate. ### What does it mean to read the bills "a second time"? There are [several stages](https://www.peo.gov.au/learning/fact-sheets/making-a-law.html) that a bill must pass through before becoming law. When the Senate is asked to read a bill for the "second time", it means that they are being asked whether they agree with the main idea of the bill. If this vote is successful, they'll then go on to discuss it in greater detail. ### What do the bills do? The two bills are the: * [Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Broadcasting Reform) Bill 2017](http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id:legislation/billhome/r5907); and the * [Commercial Broadcasting (Tax) Bill 2017](http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id:legislation/billhome/r5908). Most significantly, the bills were introduced to get rid of certain media ownership, control and diversity laws, like the ‘75% audience reach rule’, w
Senate, 2017-09-13. affirmative: ayes 35, noes 29.
Question
The majority voted in favour of an [amendment](http://www.openaustralia.org.au/senate/?gid=2017-09-13.212.20) introduced by WA Senator [Rachel Siewert](https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/senate/wa/rachel_siewert) (Greens). The amendment changes the second motion text - which is normally "*That these bills be now read a [second time](https://www.peo.gov.au/learning/fact-sheets/making-a-law.html)*" - by adding: > *"but the Senate is of the opinion that all free-to-air television broadcasters should use the financial relief afforded by the reduction in licensing fees to offer audio description services for people who are blind or vision-impaired, and ensure provisioning of captioning services on all broadcast programs aligning thus with the National Disability Strategy 2010-2020, which calls for all broadcast programs to be fully captioned".* This change doesn't have any legal affect - that is, it won't force the Government to do what it asks for. However, it does have political influence in that it represents the will of the Senate. ### What does it mean to read the bills "a second time"? There are [several stages](https://www.peo.gov.au/learning/fact-sheets/making-a-law.html) that a bill must pass through before becoming law. When the Senate is asked to read a bill for the "second time", it means that they are being asked whether they agree with the main idea of the bill. If this vote is successful, they'll then go on to discuss it in greater detail. ### What do the bills do? The two bills are the: * [Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Broadcasting Reform) Bill 2017](http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id:legislation/billhome/r5907); and the * [Commercial Broadcasting (Tax) Bill 2017](http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id:legislation/billhome/r5908). Most significantly, the bills were introduced to get rid of certain media ownership, control and diversity laws, like the ‘75% audience reach rule’, w
How each member voted
Per-member votes are not present in this static export. Consult the original division record.
Related bills
- Broadcasting Legislation Amendment (Broadcasting Reform) Bill 2017
- Commercial Broadcasting (Tax) Bill 2017
Only formal divisions leave a per-member record. A procedural vote is not necessarily a vote for or against a bill.