Senator CONROY (Victoria—Leader of the Government in the Senate, Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on Digital Productivity) (14:19): This government will make no apology for putting Australian jobs first, second and third. It has put Australian jobs first, second and third. Those on the opposite side may be willing to sacrifice Australian jobs. They may decide— Opposition senators interjecting — Senator CONROY: Have you decided whether you are running a bigger surplus or a smaller surplus? Have Mr Abbott and Mr Hockey sorted it out? What is the position over there? According to Mr Hockey, you are prepared to sacrifice Australian families and jobs in your pursuit of a surplus at all costs. But we are not prepared to put Australians into the unemployment queue and put families under financial pressure simply because Senator Barnaby Joyce— Senator Joyce: Mr President, I rise on a point of order going to relevance. He is an excitable young chap, isn't he? The question is: is the Prime Minister, who he is representing, going to apologise to the people of Rooty Hill for the promise that she made, and is she going to correct the record? Senator Wong: Mr President, I rise on the point of order. Senator Joyce may not have been listening because he was interjecting, but in fact the minister went to that issue in the second or third sentence in his answer. He is quite clearly relevant to the question. I know that the opposition do not think that jobs are relevant to an economic question, but I think most people would agree that they are. The PRESIDENT: There is no point of order. The minister has 19 seconds remaining if there is anything further to add to the answer. Senator CONROY: In the December monthly financial statements, our spending was actually $1 billion lower than the midyear update forecast so far this year. Payments remain on track to be around 23.8 per cent of the GDP. That is lower than half the budget outcomes delivered by the Howard government. (Time expired)