Senator WATT (Queensland—Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and Minister for Emergency Management) (14:46): As has been articulated in the Uluru statement itself, the government does acknowledge this issue. As we say, and as the expert panel has said, the Voice to Parliament does not interfere with the sovereignty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. As I say— The PRESIDENT: Minister Watt, please resume your seat. Senator Thorpe. Senator Thorpe: President, let me get this right. Relevance: on the question, does the government thereby acknowledge the sovereignty of First Nations people? The PRESIDENT: You may not agree with the minister's response, but, in this case, the minister is being relevant, and I'm going to invite him to continue his answer. Senator WATT: I have already answered the question in my opening points by the remarks that I made around sovereignty. And, again, Senator Thorpe, with the greatest of respect, I know that nothing we say to you will convince you of this point because your agenda is to oppose the Voice— The PRESIDENT: Minister Watt, please resume your seat. Senator Thorpe. Senator Thorpe: Point of order: I don't know what it is, but it's not personal. I'm asking for the black sovereign movement out there who haven't ceded their sovereignty and who are watching right now about whether the government acknowledges the sovereignty of First Nations people, because you can't have a treaty without one. The PRESIDENT: Senator Thorpe, please resume your seat. Once again you are getting into a debate rather than calling a point of order. I agree with you that the minister should stick to the question and not— Senator Thorpe interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Senator Thorpe, I am attempting to answer your point. I will ask the minister to refrain from making a personal reference to you and to stick to your question. Thank you, Minister. Senator WATT: As you probably know, Senator Thorpe, I did study law at university and I practised as a lawyer, but I'm not a professor of constitutional law. I'm not a former High Court judge of Australia. I'm not a former vice-chancellor of the Australian Catholic University. I'm not one of the people in the expert group on the Voice who have all said that the issue you're talking about is not a concern. The PRESIDENT: Minister, please resume your seat. Senator Thorpe: Relevance. The PRESIDENT: The minister is being relevant, and I will listen carefully. Senator Thorpe: Telling me his resume— The PRESIDENT: Senator Thorpe, please don't argue. I've ruled on it. Senator Watt, please continue. Senator WATT: My point is: I can't think of a more eminent group to advise this parliament on these matters. We have listened to their advice, and I would encourage everyone to do so. (Time expired)