Senator BROWN(4.49 p.m.) —Senator Faulkner is absolutely right, and Senator Lees is right too. Senator Hill laughs about this, but he has been unable to explain why he is so averse to the word `ecologically' being placed in front of the word `sustainable'.

Senator Harradine accused me of twisting the words that Senator Hill had used. I did not. I was very clear about what Senator Hill had said. Firstly, he said that he did not want to put `ecologically' before `sustainable'; and secondly, he was concerned that economic sustainability had to be taken into account. What we have argued over here is that you cannot get economic sustainability if you do not have ecological sustainability. That is pure logic in this modern age where the government does subscribe, as we have just heard, to ecological sustainability principles now adopted world wide.

It is quite fair of the committee to be alarmed and concerned about the minister moving to block this amendment from the Democrats to ensure that this money goes towards ecological sustainability and not just sustainability, whatever that might mean. There has been no explanation from either the government or Senator Harradine as to why the word `ecological' should not be placed in here. I guess we cannot go further than that, but I retain my right to be alarmed about it. It is not good enough for the minister simply to say, `Well, I have sympathy with this point of view, but I am going to oppose it.' It does not add up.