Senator ABETZ (Tasmania—Leader of the Government in the Senate, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service and Minister for Employment) (14:53): The signature policy of the government, of course, was the repeal of the carbon tax; let us make no bones about it. I will not allow Senator Wong to try to put words into the government's mouth. Indeed, we went to the election saying that we would stop the boats, repeal the carbon tax, restore the budget and stop the waste. Let us put all this into context. We did go to the election seeking support from the Australian people for a paid parental leave scheme which was designed to assist with population growth, with productivity and with participation—fundamentally, vitally important issues. Indeed, for example, any comparative study of the female participation rate in the workforce in Canada as opposed to in Australia shows the sort of differential that we as a nation should seek to overcome, given that we know that as we speak at the moment there are currently five taxpayers for every pensioner, and by 2050 that will have changed to about 2½ taxpayers— Senator Wong: Mr President, I rise on a point of order. This is all very interesting, but there was only one question asked and that was, 'What will the scheme cost?' That is the only question that was asked. The PRESIDENT: You did ask that question in the context of paid parental leave being a signature policy. Senator Abetz has been addressing that portion of the question. I remind the minister of the question. Senator ABETZ: Thank you, Mr President. The point I was making was the cost of not having the Paid Parental Leave scheme. That is why, when you look around the world and see the consequences of good policy and greater female participation in the workforce, you can see the economic activity that will grow and the benefits for all Australians of that greater participation rate in the Australian economy.