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Article: Conscience voting in the Australian federal parliament.
- Article from:
- The Australian Journal of Politics and History
- Article date:
- December 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 University of Queensland Press. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Introduction
Three rare examples of conscience voting occurred in the House of Representatives and in Australian Senate between 1996 and 2006 when the parliament considered bills dealing with euthanasia, research involving embryonic stein cells, and the abortion drug, RU486. Each of these conscience votes has received some individual attention. (1) But this is the first attempt to examine all three and to draw out the insights they collectively offer about the values to which parliamentarians from all political parties subscribed during the Howard era. Parliamentarians were freed of their normal obligation to vote as their party requires on legislation pertaining ...