Future Drought Fund Bill 2019 and another

The majority voted against a motion introduced by Queensland Senator Larissa Waters (Greens), which means it failed. The motion would have amended the usual second reading motion, which is that "the bills be read for a second time". This is parliamentary jargon for agreeing with the main idea of the bill.

Motion text

At the end of the motion, add:

", but the Senate notes that free or unlimited water entitlements given to fossil fuel companies by State and Territory governments, while farmers struggle with drought conditions, significantly undermines the effectiveness of any drought response by:

(a) depriving farmers of water;

(b) exacerbating droughts; and

(c) worsening climate change which further exacerbates droughts."