Senator WONG (South Australia—Minister for Foreign Affairs and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (14:04): I again make the point that support for an election, which is held when the Solomon Islands parliament and government determine when that election can be, is an offer respectful of the sovereignty of the Solomon Islands. That is the nature of the answer I gave and the offer that has been made by the Australian government. I would make this point. I understand that the shadow minister has to ask these questions. Unlike those opposite, we have ensured that the Prime Minister, the foreign minister and others are engaging with Solomon Islands, rather than the ducking and weaving we saw from those opposite. Senator Birmingham: President, a point of order on direct relevance: the series of questions, and particularly the supplementary question just asked, did not query the merits of the provision of financial assistance for the conduct of elections, which the minister keeps referencing. The supplementary question was specific about the public disclosure of the latest offer of financial assistance and whether the minister had conveyed her intention to publicly disclose that to the government of the Solomon Islands prior to doing so. The PRESIDENT: I do believe that the minister has been relevant. I'll continue to listen for the next 16 seconds. Senator WONG: As the senator knows, this government does seek to transparently answer questions which are made by journalists. We did so in relation to an offer, which is consistent with the practice of this and past governments, to support democracy. (Time expired)