Mr BEAZLEY —My question is directed to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, is the small business survey that the Minister for Workplace Relations and Small Business and yourself have been quoting from the one that reveals that support for the government is actually falling? Is it the same one that reveals that 32 per cent of proprietors nominated unemployment as the main issue before the government, as opposed to 20 per cent on taxation reform? Is it the same small business survey which shows that restoring consumer confidence is vitally or very important, to the tune of 85 per cent, but only 46 per cent describe the GST as vitally or very important?

Mr SPEAKER —The Leader of the Opposition will draw his question to a conclusion.

Mr BEAZLEY —Is it the same small business survey which shows that, while 89 per cent of proprietors believe that improved waterfront efficiency will have a major impact on the economy, 58 per cent said they believe the federal government has handled the dispute badly—

Mr SPEAKER —The Leader of the Opposition will draw his question to a conclusion.

Mr BEAZLEY —and only 30 per cent thought they had handled it well?

Mr SPEAKER —The Leader of the Opposition will draw his question to a conclusion.

Mr Ross Cameron —A point of order, Mr Speaker.

Mr BEAZLEY —Prime Minister, when are you going to restore consumer confidence by taking off consumers the threat of a GST, get your act together and produce some decent reform on the waterfront—

Mr SPEAKER —The Leader of the Opposition will resume his seat.

Mr BEAZLEY —in the way that the public expects?

Mr SPEAKER —The Prime Minister will wait. There is a point of order from a member seated behind him. That question was far too long. Frankly, I do not intend to allow questions of that length to be accepted. Does the member for Parramatta have a point of order?

Mr Ross Cameron —Mr Speaker, the length of the question is one of its defects. I note that it contained a multiple series of questions which should be placed on the Notice Paper . The introduction was excessively long; it was in fact a short speech. The material involved gratuitous statements of fact. The material quoted a media statement, with material that would otherwise be inadmissible, such as comment, argument and opinion.

Mr SPEAKER —The member for Parramatta has made his point. I have already drawn attention to the fact that it was far too long, but I believe the Prime Minister would be very disappointed if he did not have an opportunity to respond. I suspect the Prime Minister would like to have an opportunity to comment on that report.

Mr HOWARD (Prime Minister) —I will have to analyse the question asked by the Leader of the Opposition to be absolutely certain that it is the same survey. I can inform the Leader of the Opposition that the survey to which my colleague the Minister for Workplace Relations and Small Business referred is the same survey that for years gave the Labor government a negative rating of over 50 per cent. It is the same survey that again and again demonstrated that the Labor Party was completely unacceptable to small business. It is the same survey that demonstrated a very positive response to the coalition's reductions in small business interest rates.

It is the same survey that makes it very plain that there is overwhelming support in the small business sector for the policies of the coalition. It is the same survey that indicates 80 per cent support for the coalition's policies in relation to taxation reform. It is the same survey that indicates overwhelming support for the very industrial relations reform that the Labor Party so strongly opposes—that is, reform of the Australian waterfront.