Senator SESELJA (Australian Capital Territory—Minister for International Development and the Pacific) (15:52): I thank Senator Paterson for the question. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused immense disruption here in Australia and across our region. Our response is simple. We are supporting Australians and we are supporting our region. Through this budget, the government is investing in an open, inclusive and resilient Indo-Pacific region. Labor is maintaining an outrageous lie—that we have cut development funding in the budget. Let me be perfectly clear: we've maintained Australia's baseline $4 billion ODA budget, which will continue over the forward estimates, rising in the out years. And, in response to the pandemic, the government is delivering $1 billion of additional investments over the years to 2023-24—over $800 million this year and next. We make no apology for the government front-loading these investments. Is Labor really arguing that we should hold off on supporting our neighbours at this critical time as they are dealing— Opposition senators interjecting— Senator SESELJA: Well, you got it wrong. We're not going to take your advice and hold back the additional assistance at a time of crisis. The government has demonstrated again and again that we will allocate new funding in response to the need in our region. COVID-19 has created a highly fluid international environment, and the government's temporary and targeted measures are exactly the right tool to respond to that environment. In the year ahead, we'll provide $262 million to support our region's vaccine procurement and $156 million to address the economic impacts of the pandemic. In 2021 we delivered approximately $1.7 billion in ODA to the Pacific, over 50 per cent higher than Labor delivered to the region when last in office, so we're not going to be lectured to by the Labor Party about our commitment to supporting our Pacific family and our Pacific neighbours. The PRESIDENT: Senator Paterson, a supplementary question?