Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Leader of the Government in the Senate, Minister for Finance, Special Minister of State and Vice-President of the Executive Council) (14:13): It is true that, as a matter of national interest, the government is committed to supporting our defence industry as an internationally competitive industry. And we very much appreciate, in a bipartisan fashion, that that is an effort that is supported by both sides of politics, by the two major parties of government. When it comes to the other more specific issues that Senator Whish-Wilson raises, Australia, of course, remains committed to its international arms controls obligations. Our international best practice defence export controls system remains unchanged. We are cognisant that the Middle East is a complex security and political environment. The Middle East is a large defence export market. There will be a range of future export opportunities that will benefit Australia across our different interests. Any defence export opportunities to the Middle East will continue to be considered and balanced under our rigorous export controls system to ensure they do not prejudice Australia's defence security and international relations priorities and are consistent with international obligations and commitments. We do have the sophistication to pursue defence export success while meeting our international obligations and the expectations of the Australian public—if not, perhaps, the expectations of the Greens. The PRESIDENT: Senator Whish-Wilson, on a point of order? Senator Whish-Wilson: On a point of order, President. I appreciate Senate Cormann is doing a lot of different jobs at the moment. My question was: does he think this will add to the instability in the region? The PRESIDENT: Senator Whish-Wilson, your question had a lengthy preamble. The minister is being directly relevant to the terms of your question. Senator Cormann. Senator CORMANN: To assist Senator Whish-Wilson even more directly: we believe that the risks that he's pointing to are well able to be managed, given the export controls in all of these systems and frameworks that are in place. We have, as I say, the sophistication to pursue a defence export success by meeting our international obligations and the expectations of the Australian public. While our defence industry offers goods and services across the capability spectrum, some of Australia's most successful defence exports are defensive in nature and save lives. The PRESIDENT: Senator Whish-Wilson, a supplementary question.