ParliamentPapers

Senate

James Paterson

James Paterson is a Liberal Party of Australia senator for Victoria. First elected 9 March 2016.

2016 Chaired intelligence committee
2022 Joined shadow cabinet
2016 May 2026
  1. 2016 Chaired intelligence committee
  2. 2022 Joined shadow cabinet
  • Liberal Party of Australia
  • Out of this seat

Before this: won first Senate election (2013); entered federal parliament (2014).

What do they focus on?

Not enough tracked speeches or amendments to say yet.

  • Immigration, border & security 19
  • Budget, tax & economy 6
  • Law, justice & rights 3
  • Health, care & disability 1
  • Work & employment 1

Bars show tracked speeches and amendments by policy area.

How do they vote?

Share of recorded votes on the same side as each party's majority.

  • Coalition 99%
  • One Nation 85%
  • Labor 24%
  • Greens 12%

424 tracked votes while with Liberal.

How do they compare?

  • Years in parliament i Total time served across every stint in either chamber, up to the end of the tracked record. 10.2 yrs 0.2 avg 8.5 yrs 33.3
  • Votes against their party i Recorded votes cast against their own party's majority side. The average is across party members only. 1 avg 0.6 26
  • Bills introduced i Bills they introduced to Parliament, counted across the tracked record. 0 avg 2.8 46
  • Amendments sponsored i Amendments to bills they put forward during debate, counted across the tracked record. 10 avg 7.9 226
Where their votes sit, left to right i Built from votes alone: party members sit at their party's mark and move only by votes cast against their own party toward a neighbouring one. Independents are placed by their side on the votes where the parties disagreed.
James Greens Labor Coalition One Nation

The marker starts at their party’s position and shifts only for floor-crossings towards a neighbouring party. No topic strip is shown because their economic, social and environment votes followed the party line.

What have they done lately?

Recent activity in the pack runs through 29 June 2026. On the workplace-relations bill, he voted No when the Senate passed the bill, 31–25. On the income-tax brackets proposal, he voted Aye on a call to index brackets; it was defeated 24–30. On 22 June, he voted Aye on two procedural questions about considering the NDIS bill, both of which carried, without that record establishing a position on the bill itself NDIS Senate procedure. On 27 November 2025, he moved two division motions on financial-system rules: delaying ownership disclosure was defeated 20–32, while the five-year-review question carried 31–22; he voted No on that question.

When do they vote against their party?

1 time across 424 tracked votes. Most recently:

What do they say in debate?

24 tracked speeches across 24 bills.

  • 17 backing a bill
  • 4 with reservations
  • 3 against
  • 0 no clear position

Go deeper

Every figure links to a cited page.

About these numbers

Based on 766 tracked bills from the 47th and 48th Parliaments, current to 6 July 2026. This is a sample of parliamentary activity, not the complete record.

Career markers come from dated public records. Voting figures use division lists only. For party members, the left-to-right marker begins at the party position. It moves only when the member votes against that party and on the same side as a neighbouring party; other cross-party combinations do not affect it. Independents and minor-party members are placed by their votes in divisions where the Greens and the Coalition took opposite sides. If this position differs from a member’s broader public politics, a note appears below the strip.