Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance and the Public Service, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (14:40): On this side of the chamber we've got this habit of being guided by the Constitution on when an election is called, and, under the provisions of our Constitution, the election is due by the middle of next year. The last election was a double-dissolution election on 2 July 2016. That means that half the Senate has to be replaced by 1 July 2019. You can count back from there. The election will take place sometime— The PRESIDENT: Senator O'Neill, on a point of order. Senator O'Neill: The question went to ignoring the impact of the dysfunctional government on the New South Wales election and why the government continues to ignore that advice. The PRESIDENT: The minister was being directly relevant to the question asked. I can't instruct him on how to answer the question. Senator CORMANN: Thank you very much, Mr President. I would refer Senator O'Neill back to the Constitution. You don't even have to think about the vibe; you've just got to look at the provisions inside the Constitution. And you'll find in the Constitution all of the provisions you need to see why the Prime Minister will call an election, consistent with the requirements under the Constitution. As we have already announced, we have a budget on 2 April. And do you know what? It will be a surplus budget. It will be a surplus budget because, having inherited a rapidly deteriorating budget position from the Labor Party, we've been able to turn that situation around as a result of our hard work. We've been putting funding for the essential services of government that Australians expect on a sustainable foundation trajectory for the future. We'll continue to do our work for the Australian people for as long as the Constitution entitles us to do so. The PRESIDENT: Senator O'Neill, a supplementary question.