Senator JOHNSTON (Western Australia—Minister for Defence) (14:00): That is a question you might best ask Qantas. The situation is that Qantas, of course, for the senator's understanding, is a commercially-listed entity in Australia. It is an international carrier in the airline industry and, accordingly, is hostage to the marketplace. It is currently going through a tough time. What the government has sought to do is level the playing field for Qantas. We are not going to give them a blank cheque. We are not going to underwrite debt. We are going to give them a level playing field where they can compete on the open market, as they should. The government has announced that it will move to a single regulatory framework for all Australian airlines. Legislation will be introduced to remove the foreign ownership and operational restrictions in part 3 of the Qantas Sale Act. That, Senator, through you, Mr President, is a very important act— Senator Conroy: Mr President, I rise on a point of order going to relevance. I asked the minister a very specific question about the repeal of part 3 and how many jobs were going to be exported by this government. The minister has 40 seconds left to remotely attempt to address the question, and I invite you to ask him to address the question. The PRESIDENT: There is no point of order at this stage. The minister is to continue. Senator JOHNSTON: Thank you, Mr President. Qantas as a viable, commercial entity employs a very large number of people. In order for them to continue to be a viable, commercial entity, they must have a level playing field; currently, they do not. They are at the mercy of other airlines that have government capital funding. Senator, you should know that, if we are going to go forward with a reliable, secure working environment for the employees of Qantas, they must have the commercial capacity to borrow on the open market and function commercially. (Time expired)