Senator FIERRAVANTI-WELLS (New South Wales—Minister for International Development and the Pacific) (14:26): The vast majority of people, as the Prime Minister said yesterday in response to— Senator Siewert: On a point of order, Mr President, I did not include a preamble. I asked a very clear question: could the minister live on Newstart for a year? There was no preamble. It was a direct question. The PRESIDENT: Senator Siewert, you quite correctly point out that you asked a direct question without a preamble. It is difficult to judge direct relevance in seven seconds, but you have taken the opportunity to remind the minister of the specific nature of your question. Senator FIERRAVANTI-WELLS: We appreciate that some people have made the contention in relation to Newstart, but, as the Prime Minister said yesterday, we believe the setting is right. Newstart is a safety net. It's not like the disability pension or an age pension, which is entitled to be a substitute— The PRESIDENT: Senator Siewert on a point of order? Senator Siewert: I've now given the minister half a minute, but this is not relevant to the question I asked. I asked a very direct question. You pointed out the issue around preamble. I didn't include a preamble in there. I asked a very simple question. I point to the lack of relevance of this answer. The PRESIDENT: Senator Fierravanti-Wells, I do remind you of the specific nature of the question asked by Senator Siewert. I call you to continue your answer, if you haven't resumed your seat—I wasn't sure if you were indicating you'd concluded. Senator FIERRAVANTI-WELLS: As I was saying, the Newstart allowance is not like a disability pension or an age pension, which is entitled to be a substitute for employed income. This is a safety net to enable people to get additional support from government to enable them to look for work. (Time expired) The PRESIDENT: Senator Siewert, a final supplementary question.