Senator McKENZIE (Victoria—Minister for Emergency Management and National Recovery and Resilience, Minister for Regionalisation, Regional Communications and Regional Education and Leader of The Nationals in the Senate) (14:00): I thank the senator for her question and her casual interest in regional Australia. She pops in and pops out. President, in your former role as chair of the Murray-Darling Basin select committee, you did see Senator O'Neill pop into basin communities, make some swift promises and scatter some caring words to— Senator Davey: Give false hope. Senator McKENZIE: give false hope—thank you, Senator Davey—whilst out of town, without actually telling those irrigators that the Labor Party— The PRESIDENT: Minister, please resume your seat. Senator O'Neill, on a point of order? Senator O'Neill: I know the Senator McKenzie has difficulty in hearing you— The PRESIDENT: No, Senator O'Neill, a point of order. Senator O'Neill: The point of order is relevance. This is a question of significant import to the people of Australia, who deserve an answer to the question that was asked, not a rant from Senator McKenzie. The PRESIDENT: Senator O'Neill, there is no point of order. Senator McKENZIE: I look forward to spending this question time talking about the needs and interests of rural and regional Australia as many times as the Labor Party chooses to ask us a question on that. It's actually nice to have the Labor Party asking the government questions about rural and regional Australia. The PRESIDENT: Senator Gallagher, a point of order? Senator Gallagher: My point of order is on direct relevance to the question. Question time shouldn't be an opportunity for a minister to just rant about the opposition; they should be directly relevant to the question they've been asked, which is about the regions and Liberal representation of those regions, not the Labor Party. The PRESIDENT: Senator Gallagher, you have had a chance to bring the minister's attention back to the question. I accept that it's a general question in nature, in that it involves regional Australia. However, Minister, I will ask you to direct your attention to the question. Senator McKENZIE: The National Party, like the Country Party before it, has one goal and one constituency. Other political parties in this House represent a raft of constituencies, but I can tell this chamber very, very proudly, we don't seek to represent the needs and interests of Woolloomooloo. It's great that my Senate colleague Hollie Hughes from Sydney is very, very keen to talk about the needs and interests of— Opposition senators interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Minister, can you please resume your seat. Those on my left, interjections are always disorderly. I cannot hear the minister. Senator McKENZIE: We only have one mandate. It is to stand up tor the needs of rural and regional Australia. We've been doing it for a century. We're very proud to do that, because it allows us not to be distracted by other interests, by other constituencies. The big parties, fairly, have a range of constituencies that they have to manage. The Labor Party does. Unfortunately, not enough of the Labor Party MPs and senators give a damn about regional Australia. You see it in your policies, you see it in your public— (Time expired) The PRESIDENT: Senator O'Neill, resume your seat, please. This is generally considered a time for the opposition. I would prefer not to waste that time. Senator O'Neill, you have the call.