Senator FARUQI (New South Wales) (14:41): My question is to Minister Watt, representing the Minister for Early Childhood Education. Today, thousands of early childhood educators around the country have walked out of centres. The low pay and difficult conditions these workers are subjected to are a national shame. Educators deserve professional pay that reflects the skill and responsibility of the work that they do every single day. But instead of immediately committing the funding necessary to lift these workers wages, the Labor government is going ahead with the stage 3 tax cuts for the wealthy—tax cuts that economists tell us will overwhelmingly flow to men as well. Why is the government sticking with the obscene stage 3 tax cuts, when it should be using the money to lift wages of early educators and carers—who are mostly women? Senator Wong: Point of order: Senator Watt may well be quite willing to answer those bits within his portfolio, but a question on tax cuts, just because it is juxtaposed with a political statement about child care, does not make this part of the portfolio that Senator Watt is representing. If the senator wants to ask questions about tax cuts, there are representing ministers who can obviously be asked, but I make the point that the responsibility is not in the portfolio to which the question is addressed. Obviously, the remedy is the minister can answer the question insofar as it relates to the portfolio he's representing. The PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator Wong. I'm responding to the point of order, Senator Faruqi. I remind senators that questions do need to be addressed to the correct portfolio holder. Did you have a point of order, Senator Faruqi? Senator Faruqi: I do. This is a question about child care and childcare workers, early childhood educators and workers and their pay. If the minister who represents the minister for early education and care can't respond to that, then I'm not sure what to do about it. The PRESIDENT: Just a moment, Senator Wong. Senator Wong, please resume your seat. Senator Faruqi, that was not the totality of the question. The point of order made by Senator Wong went to the issue of tax cuts, which is indeed another portfolio holder. As you don't have a point of order, I'm going to go to Senator Watt now to answer whatever part of the question that relates to his portfolio. Senator Watt.