Senator LUDWIG (Queensland—Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and Minister Assisting on Queensland Floods Recovery) (14:40): Australia joins those countries around the world that are taking action on climate change. That is why Greg Combet, the Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, announced on 9 November that Australia is ready to join a second commitment period of the Kyoto protocol. What is unbelievable from those opposite, if we want to talk about believability, is that they opposed income tax cuts and family tax cuts for business. Tripling the tax-free threshold, tax cuts for more than seven million people, was opposed by those opposite, unbelievable if you are a family; and a company tax cut—unbelievable if you are a company. Increasing the Medicare levy surcharge threshold— Senator Birmingham: Mr President, I raise a point of order, again on the matter of direct relevance. For the last 30 to 40 seconds of the minister's answer he has talked about anything but climate change policies or the second commitment period under Kyoto and is traversing a range of completely unrelated policy areas. I ask you to draw the minister's attention to the question. The PRESIDENT: Order! The minister needs to address the question. The minister has 16 seconds remaining. Senator LUDWIG: Again, it is unbelievable that they would oppose household assistance with the introduction of a carbon price. It is unbelievable that they would do that, but it is true. It is embarrassingly true that that is precisely what those opposite did, and they cannot bring themselves to— (Time expired)