Senator RONALDSON (Victoria—Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Centenary of ANZAC and Special Minister of State) (14:59): I am not entirely sure what Senator Sterle was doing last night, but I was reading the budget papers. He will see from those that, indeed, this is an indexation pause. He clearly does not understand what is in the budget—and that is the trouble sometimes: when you are given a question and you blindly read it out, not having an iota of understanding about what is in the budget, then you get to ask really silly questions like this. The PRESIDENT: Pause the clock. Order on my left! Your leader is on her feet seeking the call. Senator Wong: Mr President, my point of order it is on direct relevance. This Minister for Veterans' Affairs is being asked by Senator Sterle how many veterans will be affected by the budget measure at page 180 of Budget Paper No. 2. I think he should be asked to return to the answer to that question. The PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator Wong. Minister, I do remind you of the question. You have 33 seconds in which to answer. Senator RONALDSON: It is very hard to give an answer to a nonsensical question; I am not going to do so. What I have said earlier on is: there is an indexation pause in the money paid to these allied professionals. This is not about the numbers of people— Senator Wong: Have you read this? 69.6— Senator RONALDSON: Well, read the thing. No wonder you left this country in such a parlous state—the worst finance minister Australia has had. This is an indexation pause. Go back and do your homework, have a look at it and then ask me another question.