Mr GARETH EVANS —My question is directed to the Acting Prime Minister. I refer to your answer to the Leader of the Opposition a moment ago that job creation depended on the passage of your industrial relations legislation. I also refer to your statement to similar effect on Face to Face on Sunday night.

Mr ACTING SPEAKER —Can you refer to the question, too?

Mr GARETH EVANS —Yes. I am asking him whether he remembers. In the case of Mr Fischer, it is very important to check that he remembers things he might have said three days ago. Did you say that by far the best way to create jobs, to get unemployment down, would be for the government's IR bill to be passed? Do you agree that these statements are utterly inconsistent not only with what is in the budget papers and what the Treasury officials were saying last night but also with what your Treasurer himself was reported as saying in the Age last week; namely, that it was productivity improvement that was driving this legislation—

Mr ACTING SPEAKER —The Deputy Leader of the Opposition might get to the question.

Mr GARETH EVANS —And that unemployment `was not really why we do it'?

Mr Reid —Mr Acting Speaker, on a point of order: this is two days in a row that the Deputy Leader of the Opposition has got up at question time and done a preamble of about 20 sentences before getting to a question. I ask you to draw that to his attention and get him to ask a simple question.

Mr ACTING SPEAKER —Thank you very much. I do agree with the point of order and I would ask you to get to the question.

Mr GARETH EVANS —Aren't your statements inconsistent with what your Treasurer is saying, that unemployment is `not really why we do it'—why we have this industrial relations legislation? As Acting Prime Minister, are you now going to bring the Treasurer to heel?

Mr TIM FISCHER —No, no and no.