Senator GALLAGHER (Australian Capital Territory—Minister for the Public Service, Minister for Finance, Minister for Women, Manager of Government Business in the Senate and Vice-President of the Executive Council) (14:03): I appreciate the question. In terms of our approach to the budget, the Prime Minister leads that, as he does other areas of policy work across the government. The Prime Minister provides authority, as I imagine your prime minister did. Well, your prime minister had ministerial responsibility for five portfolios, so I guess he didn't have to talk to himself about that. But the Prime Minister provides the authority for consideration of policy priorities within the government. He's always had that. He continues to have that. I think the contrast in our approach to budget management is pretty stark. You had deficits; we have surpluses. We're paying— Senator Birmingham: President, a point of order on direct relevance: Senator Colbeck was asking not about the Prime Minister's authority to allow the bringing forward of new policy proposals but instead whether the Prime Minister has given himself the power to unilaterally scrap budget decisions. Can the minister address this question? A simple yes or no will suffice. The PRESIDENT: I believe the minister is being correct. I note that you repeated the question, and I think she is exploring the Prime Minister's responsibility in relation to the budget. But I will continue to listen carefully. Senator GALLAGHER: Thank you, President. I know it must come as a surprise to those opposite that we run a traditional government of good process where the Prime Minister has ultimate authority. We have ERCs; we have proper process, unlike those opposite. We know what happened under them. They didn't even get a say. (Time expired) The PRESIDENT: Senator Colbeck, second supplementary.