Senator JOHNSTON (Western Australia—Minister for Defence) (15:43): When I said that we were confronting broader economic challenges, one of the principal ones was what we have heard about today: an NBN allegedly going to cost $4 billion; now it is $73 billion. Senator Moore: Mr President, on a point of order on relevance: the minister has started in a completely different area. We need to have a response to the question about the pre-election promise from the government. The PRESIDENT: There is no point of order at this stage. The minister still has 41 seconds remaining. Senator JOHNSTON: Can you imagine the confidence of the men and women of the Australian Defence Force fighting on the front line knowing that the shadow minister, who is in waiting were there to be a change of government, has a track record of the sort of financial management— The PRESIDENT: Order! Senator Moore is on her feet and she has the right to be recognised, but I will not recognise her until there is silence. Senator Moore: Mr President, again on relevance, we have now gone another 20 seconds to this answer and, again, there has been no movement towards an answer to this question. I ask you, Mr President, to draw the minister's attention to the question. The PRESIDENT: I do draw the minister's attention to the question. The minister now has 23 seconds remaining to address the question. Senator JOHNSTON: So when I was talking to ASPI, Mr President, about the wider challenges confronting the government in financial circumstances, can I tell you that the successive deficits the former Labor government delivered, the policy of ripping out $30 billion in ASPI's— (Time expired)