Senator CORMANN (Western Australia—Minister for Finance, Leader of the Government in Senate, Vice-President of the Executive Council and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (14:45): I refer you to the public statements of the New South Wales police commissioner, who said that the reason they are assessing it is because of the person who wrote the letter, who happens to be a shadow Attorney-General—who happens to be a political opponent, who happens to be a serial malicious letter writer and who happens to be in the business of pursuing political smears. That is their track record. And let me tell you: you would not want a single politically motivated partisan letter to become the test on whether or not a minister is stood aside. The PRESIDENT: Senator Keneally, on a point of order? Senator Keneally: On direct relevance. The minister is not answering the question asked by Senator McAllister, which paraphrased is: why is he impugning the New South Wales Police Force? The PRESIDENT: I would ask people to not paraphrase. Paraphrasing can sometimes be as unhelpful as restating. Are you continuing your answer, Senator Cormann? Senator CORMANN: I reject the proposition that I didn't answer it; I answered it directly, and I quoted the public comments. I completely and utterly reject that proposition. Senator Wong: You're impugning the Police Force. Senator CORMANN: I reject that interjection by Senator Wong absolutely, 100 per cent. I'm referring to the public statement by the New South Wales police commissioner, who made very clear why the New South Wales Police are assessing this particular issue, and that is because of a single letter from the shadow Attorney-General. (Time expired)