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) (14:12): On behalf of the Deputy Prime Minister, I will say that what we do support is ongoing investment in a sustainable, responsible and economically viable minerals industry so that workers in the resources industry, not just across Central Queensland but also right across your own home state of New South Wales, can have sustainable, rewarding careers in an industry that underpins not just local economies in regional Australia but indeed— The PRESIDENT: Senator Ayres, a point of order? Senator Ayres: On relevance: it's very clear that the minister is not going remotely go close to answering the question, which was—if I can remind you—about whether the Deputy Prime Minister supports labour hire being used to undermine the pay of mine workers in regional Australia. The PRESIDENT: Senator Ayres, I think we do need to acknowledge that the minister had only just started her answer. You've brought her back to your question. Senator McKENZIE: I didn't forget your question. I was just reiterating the National Party's and the Liberal Party's commitment to a sustainable resources sector to ensure that these workers are absolutely being employed. And I'm just wondering whether, post next election—if you're planning to be in alliance and coalition with the Greens—you will actually hold the same views and whether the workers you purport to represent and stand up for in this place will actually be looking to you and asking: 'Why didn't you stand up for us? Why didn't you back a coal industry? Why didn't you back a gas industry?' These guys want to shut everything down. If it has the word 'fossil' in it— The PRESIDENT: Are you rising on a point of order, Senator Ayres? Senator Ayres: I am. I know that the minister wants to stick to the partisan talking points— The PRESIDENT: What is the point of order? Senator Ayres: The point of order is on relevance. She is not in the same galaxy as the question. The PRESIDENT: Minister, I will bring you back to the question. It was a reasonably narrowly framed question. I believe you were going towards the question, but I will bring you back to the question. Minister, you have the call. You have 38 seconds remaining. Senator McKENZIE: Thank you. The government believes in a workplace relations system that promotes fair, safe, harmonious and productive workplaces, that encourages employers and employees to work together—not a system that pits them against each other. When it comes to labour hire, specifically, which is a proportion of all employees, it has been stable at less than two per cent over the last decade. Of the nearly 13 million employed Australians, fewer than 115,000 were employees paid by labour hire firms. That is only 1.1 per cent of all employees. The record high of 1.5 per cent was recorded under a previous Labor government in both 2008— (Time expired) The PRESIDENT: Senator Ayres, a supplementary question?