Senator ABETZ (Tasmania—Leader of the Government in the Senate, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Public Service and Minister for Employment) (14:23): Can I debunk one proposition in the honourable senator's question? The coalition has a very proud history of allowing its parliamentarians to cross the floor in the event that they disagree with government policy, and indeed I look around and see quite a few takers who have availed themselves of that opportunity, including me. I have done that. And, indeed, when I found it impossible to agree with opposition policy at the time, whilst on the frontbench, I realised that, if I wanted to exercise my conscience, there was a price attached to it and I resigned from the frontbench to allow myself to act according to my conscience. We in the coalition allow our members and senators to have that freedom at all times, unlike the Australian Labor Party, which will automatically expel people who cross the floor—and, indeed, as I think Senator Canavan said earlier in a contribution today, have the Australian Greens ever split on a vote— The PRESIDENT: Pause the clock. A point of order, Senator Rice? Senator Rice: Mr President, I raise a point of order on relevance. He is not answering the question. The PRESIDENT: Senator Rice, part of your question did have this as a preamble, and Senator Abetz was addressing a part of the question which he said he did not agree with and was correcting that portion. But I will draw the minister's attention to the remainder of the question. Senator Abetz, you have 32 seconds in which to answer. Senator ABETZ: As I understood the question, it was the false assertion that we had somehow denied a free vote to coalition members. The PRESIDENT: Pause the clock. Senator Rice, a further point of order? Senator Rice: Mr President, I have a further point of order on relevance. The substance of my question was: what would the government say to Gerard, his partner and the thousands of loving couples in similar situations around Australia? Honourable senators interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Order on both sides! Senator Abetz, in answering your question, Senator Rice, has been addressing facts that he would put to the caller that you identified and also he was addressing portions of the question which he was correcting in relation to the coalition party room. Senator ABETZ: To assist the honourable senator, what I would say to this 62-year-old caller on ABC radio this morning is that Senator Rice's question is based on a false premise, and that is the fact, that is the situation. And I would invite Senator Rice to not misrepresent the position of the freedom that we in the coalition have to vote according to our conscience. (Time expired)