Senator PAYNE (New South Wales—Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women) (14:53): I haven't seen those particular comments, but I do reinforce the observations I made earlier—that wage increases are continuing to outpace increases in the cost of living. Importantly, we see living standards also continuing to increase, with real net disposable income per capita rising one per cent to be 2.7 per cent higher throughout the year. To support that wage growth, the government is setting the right conditions for a strong economy and jobs growth. In particular, a healthy labour market will help to drive wages growth for workers, and that's why our employment record is so critical. Since the coalition came to government in September 2013, over 1.43 million jobs have been created in this country. Let me compare that to the six years prior, when unemployment increased by more than 205,000— The PRESIDENT: Senator Wong, on a point of order? Senator Wong: It's on direct relevance—will record-low wage growth under the coalition get worse? The PRESIDENT: I cannot instruct the minister how to answer a question. I was listening to the minister carefully. She had been speaking about wages growth. I consider that to be directly relevant. Senator PAYNE: In response—in part at least—to the point of order, talking about employment, talking about jobs and talking about those aspects is actually addressing the question of the rate, the pace and the direction of wages growth. The PRESIDENT: Senator McCarthy, a final supplementary question?