Senator BRANDIS (Queensland—Attorney-General, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (15:00): Thank you very much, Senator Carr. I can confirm that it is the policy of the government and that the Prime Minister has made it very clear that the government will be doing everything in its power to put downward pressure on electricity prices. Let me explain to you, Mr President, how the Australian government intends to do that. I tried to explain that to Senator McAllister before, but let me go through it again and, in doing so, might I remind you, Mr President, that during the period of the Labor government in which Senator Carr was a senior minister— The PRESIDENT: Order! Point of order, Senator Wong. Senator Wong: A thousand bucks higher under you! Mr President, it is a point of order on direct relevance. Senator Carr's question relates to a specific reform, the five-minute settlement that the AEMC has referenced. The question is: given the Prime Minister's promise to the Australian people that he will do everything in his power to lower electricity prices, when will the government instruct the AEMC to implement this critical reform? The PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator Wong. I will remind the Attorney-General of the question. Senator BRANDIS: I am going tell you, Senator Carr, precisely what the government and the Prime Minister are doing to deliver the very thing that you have referenced—that is, to put downward pressure on electricity prices. Senator Cameron interjecting — Senator Wong interjecting — The PRESIDENT: Order on my left. Senator BRANDIS: What the government has been doing has been to bring the electricity companies in to ensure that they, in their dealings with their customers, ensure those customers have available to them knowledge of— The PRESIDENT: Order! A point of order, Senator Carr. Senator Kim Carr: Mr President, the minister's answer has got nothing whatsoever to do with the question. My point of order goes towards direct relevance. This is a question that specifically goes to the Australian Energy Market Commission on the five-minute settlement period. Will the minister directly address that proposition, which has been raised by the Australian Energy Market Commission? The PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator Carr. The Attorney-General has indicated that he will address the issue. But I take your point of order and I again remind the minister of the question. Senator BRANDIS: So that is the first thing that the government has done. Secondly, as I also pointed out to Senator McAllister, what we have also done is we have published an instrument to ensure that we have the power to give a direction— Senator Wong interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Order, Senator Wong. You have a colleague on his feet. Senator Carr, a point of order. Senator Kim Carr: Once again I raise the question of direct relevance. This question goes directly to what the Australian Energy Market Commission is saying: that is, moving to the five-minute settlement on electricity will actually lower the wholesale costs of electricity, which will lower electricity prices. When will the minister directly respond to the question? The PRESIDENT: Thank you. Again, I remind the Attorney-General of the question. Senator BRANDIS: And, Senator Carr, the question, if I may say so, was in a broader context of what the government is doing to lower the price of electricity, and I am advising him what the government has been doing. So, as I was saying, another initiative that the government has taken—which was never taken by the Labor government, as its shadow minister now concedes it should have done—has been to create a mechanism— The PRESIDENT: Senator Cameron, a point of order. Senator Cameron: The issue is direct relevance. You've drawn the minister's attention to the question on two separate occasions, and he is just ignoring your advice. He should deal with the question. The PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator Cameron. As senators have been reminded both by myself and my predecessors, I cannot direct the minister on how to answer the question. I can remind the minister of the question, which I have done, and I call the Attorney-General. Senator BRANDIS: As a result of the instrument that we have put in place, the Australian government now has the capacity to— (Time expired) The PRESIDENT: Senator Carr, a supplementary question.