Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (14:24): I'm somewhat intrigued by the line of questioning being pursued by Senator Di Natale, because one of his predecessors as Leader of the Australian Greens, Dr Bob Brown, of course stood in the way. He didn't want us to have hydro energy in Tasmania; he wanted coal instead of hydro. And you could have knocked me over with a feather the other week, when he had the opportunity to come out fighting for wind energy. Apparently, now Dr Bob Brown is also against wind energy. Presumably, that is because he still thinks that we will need— The PRESIDENT: Senator Di Natale on a point of order? Senator Di Natale: It's a point of order on relevance, Mr President. I deliberately kept those questions very short with a very short preamble. I asked specifically about whether the minister agreed with the coalmining lobby that they are the saviours of drought-stricken communities rather than the cause of climate induced drought. The PRESIDENT: You've reminded the minister of the question. I'll take the opportunity to do the same. He has 23 seconds to answer. Senator CORMANN: I don't agree with the framing of the question. Our government believes that the best way forward in terms of energy supplies is a technology-neutral approach. Coal will of course continue to be an important energy source for Australia for a very long time to come. Indeed, coal is a very significant export for Australia and it will continue to be a significant part of our economy for a very, very long time. (Time expired)