Senator WATT (Queensland—Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and Minister for Emergency Management) (14:20): President, I do question whether that's an appropriate question for me— Opposition senators interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Order! Please resume your seat, Minister. Minister Wong? Senator Wong: Point of order in terms of the addressing of a question to a minister: I understand that the opposition used the word 'youth'. The policy which was referred to in the question is not within Minister Watt's portfolio; it's within Minister Bowen's portfolio, and that would be the appropriate minister—who is the minister representing that? It's me, I think! The PRESIDENT: Senator Birmingham, on a point of order? Senator Birmingham: Very briefly, mindful of Senator McKim's observation: the question didn't reference a specific policy. The question referenced the promises of the now government and the now Prime Minister, and it referenced those promises in the context of cost-of-living pressures specific to young Australians. Senator Watt represents the Minister for Youth in this place and therefore should answer questions relevant to young Australians. The PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator Birmingham. I think Senator Watt is comfortable to take the question? Minister Watt, I'm going to ask Senator Wong to confirm who the repping minister for the Minister for Youth is. Minister Wong, I'm just wishing to ascertain that the repping minister for this question is Minister Watt? Senator Wong: If the minister wishes to—I was actually trying to be helpful to the opposition— Opposition senators interjecting— Senator Wong: I know—believe it or not! I'm very happy— Opposition senators interjecting— Senator Wong: If I could finish my sentence? I was just going to say: if you want to readdress the question to the appropriate minister, I will take the question. If you wish to persist with it to Minister Watt, it's a matter for him to answer. The PRESIDENT: I think at this point there's been no redirection from Senator Chandler, so I invite Minister Watt to respond to the question. Senator WATT: I'm always happy to talk about our plan to bring down energy prices and your utter failure to do so in the 10 years that you were in government. Unlike the opposition, the government has a plan. It's probably one of the reasons we won the election—that we actually have a plan going forward to bring down power prices in the way that we promised. The best thing about that is that at the same time not only will our plan bring down power prices, something that you were incapable of doing over 10 years; it will also bring down emissions, something you didn't believe in doing for 10 years let alone achieve. And we will create over 500,000 or 600,000-odd jobs—there are so many I can't remember the exact figure; that's how many jobs we will intend to create—including five out of six in regional Australia. Our plan will help young people with their power prices. Our plan to lift wages will help young people, especially because of the number of young workers who work in industries like hospitality, retail and minimum wage jobs. What did those people get from a Labor government? They got a government that supported a wage rise—something you weren't prepared to do for the 10 years you were in government. Our policies will bring down youth prices, something you couldn't do— The PRESIDENT: Minister, resume your seat. Senator Birmingham? Senator Birmingham: President, a point of order on the question of direct relevance. Indeed, in the previous point of order, I commented—and I highlighted the fact—that the question didn't ask specifically about a policy of the government. It asked about a promise made by the now Prime Minister. That promise was that Labor's policy will see electricity prices fall from the current level by $275 for households by 2025. The PRESIDENT: Senator Birmingham, what's the point of order? Senator Birmingham: The question is: is the government going to honour that promise? Senator Watt is not addressing that precise promise— The PRESIDENT: Senator Birmingham, please resume your seat. Senator Wong. Senator Wong: On the point of order: this is precisely why the opposition should have readdressed the question. He's responding— Sena tor Cash interjecting— Senator Wong: No, no. He is not the minister representing the minister responsible for the policy position. The PRESIDENT: On the point of order raised by Senator Birmingham, I noted that— Honourable senators interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Order! The Leader of the Opposition in the Senate has raised a point of order on the question which I am seeking to respond to. On the point of order, the minister is being relevant. It talked about electricity, it talked about promises and it talked about bringing prices down and young people. In my view, the minister has been relevant. Minister Watt, please continue. Senator WATT: Thank you, President. We have every intention of delivering all of our election commitments, whether it be this one or any other commitment that we made, such as getting rid of the ABCC; establishing an anti-corruption commission—something you didn't do for the last three years; and lifting minimum wages, which is something that has already happened under this government and which, as I say, benefits younger people as well. I might just note that not only did the former government fail to do anything about power prices in the 10 years that it was in government, it had the hide in the run-up to an election to actually hide from the Australian public how much those power prices were rising, because this mob over here will be the people who will be always remembered for hiding the increase in the default market offer price, which has increased power prices in New South Wales alone by up to 19 per cent— (Time expired) The PRESIDENT: Senator Chandler, your first supplementary?