Senate approves dumping debt ceiling THE Senate has voted to abolish the debt ceiling. In a rare political alliance, the Australian Greens voted with the coalition to overcome Labor opposition to the move. The vote on Monday ended a parliamentary gridlock over the ceiling, which the government initially wanted to increase from $300 billion to $500 billion. The ceiling was introduced by the Rudd government in 2008, starting with a cap of $75 billion. The coalition-Greens deal requires further debt reporting in the budget and its updates. It also requires the government to deliver a debt statement whenever borrowings increase by $50 billion. The amended legislation requires the approval of the lower house, where the coalition has a majority.