Senator WONG (South Australia—Minister for Foreign Affairs and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (14:00): That was to me, wasn't it? The PRESIDENT: Yes. Senator WONG: That's a pity! I thank Senator Paterson for his question. Obviously, I've just come back from the UN General Assembly, so I haven't been in Australia for the events to which he refers. I think Senator Watt is probably more across what has occurred while I've been away, and I think he was asked questions yesterday about this. This is an occasion where it does appear, if I may say so, that the lack of action by the previous government has come home to roost. When you look at, for example, the privacy commissioner's comments— The PRESIDENT: Senator Wong, resume your seat, please. Senator Paterson. Senator Paterson: A point of order on relevance: there were no questions about the policies of the former government, only questions about interviews that occurred this morning and statements of the minister. The PRESIDENT: Senator Wong has just commenced her answer and she's heard your objection. I'll ask her to continue. Senator WONG: If only it were so easy that the failure to govern properly could be simply dismissed in that way. The reality is: you failed to act on so many issues, including the Privacy Act, and in relation to cybersecurity more broadly. As a consequence of the previous government's failures on this front, Australia is less prepared for and less resilient to cyberattacks than we should have been. You would know that, Senator Paterson, because you are one of the people on that side who understands some of the issues of national security and some of the complexity. You would know that the previous government did not pay sufficient attention to this issue. You would know, for example, that there were recommendations made, which the privacy commissioner has talked about, to strengthen the regulatory framework to provide additional rights for Australians to protect their personal information, and it does not appear that they were acted upon. The PRESIDENT: Senator Wong, please resume your seat. Senator Birmingham. Senator Birmingham: A point of order on relevance: in response to Senator Paterson's point of order before, you indicated the minister was just beginning her response. When he drew a point of order that the question was related to statements about this particular cyberattack and which of those statements was correct, the minister went on talking about the former government. You indicated she was beginning her answer and gave her some latitude, but now, with 12 seconds left, I ask you to draw the minister to the question. The PRESIDENT: I will draw the minister to the question by Senator Paterson. Senator WONG: As I understand it—and my brief is that on 21 September Optus reported a data breach to the Australian Cyber Security Centre—shortly after identifying the compromise, Optus took action to contain the incident— (Time expired) The PRESIDENT: Senator Paterson, a first supplementary question?