Senator CASH (Western Australia—Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) (14:16): My question is to the Minister for Finance, Senator Gallagher. Minister, I refer to the allegations of sexual assault that were the subject of intense questioning by you over the months from February 2021. Did you or your office seek any briefing from police or prosecutors on evidence and procedural laws to ensure that your pursuit of those allegations in the parliament and the media did not affect any investigation into this matter? Senator Wong: President, I raise a point of order. This parliament and this chamber has had a lot of focus on these issues in these last days, and, as I said yesterday, I have taken the view that it is appropriate for questions to be asked and answered. But I would ask you, as chair, given the number of questions that have been asked, to recall President Hogg's ruling in 2014 in relation to the scope of questions, making it clear that questions about historical events before a senator became a minister are not in order. Now, we've not chosen till now to put that to you, but given that yesterday we had a question about a wedding, I think it's probably time that the Senate started to look at whether or not the questions in fact comply with the rulings of Senator Hogg. Senator Birmingham: President, in considering the point of order, I would invite you to consider that, in the previous parliament, more than 50 questions were asked directly on these related issues to then ministers and that the questions that have been asked over the course of this week relate to statements that were made by Senator Gallagher and by Senator Wong in the parliament and statements that they've subsequently made outside of the parliament in response to media queries as ministers—and there are a range of precedents that determine the validity of the questions that have been asked—and, through that, to consider the reasonableness of them continuing to be asked if necessary. These questions could have been curtailed had we indeed had a situation where Senator Gallagher acknowledged that she had misled and, having acknowledged that, simply corrected the record. However, that has not been the case, so the opposition has chosen to ask what we contend to be reasonable questions, consistent with existing practice and precedent and, within that, consistent very much with the type of prosecution we've seen of similar matters before. The PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator Birmingham and Senator Wong. I'll seek the advice of the Clerk. Honourable senators interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Order! Order across the chamber! Senator Wong has raised an order by previous president Hogg, and Senator Birmingham has made comments. I am advised that the link is tenuous, and I'm going to invite Senator Gallagher to answer the question to the extent that she thinks is necessary. I will also take the matter on notice and, if necessary, come back to the chamber with a further statement. Thank you. Minister Gallagher. Senator Gallagher: Can I ask that Senator Cash repeat the question? Senator CASH: I refer you to the allegations of sexual assault that were the subject of intense questioning by you over the months from February 2021. Did you or your office seek any briefing from police or prosecutors on evidence and procedural laws to ensure that your pursuit of those allegations did not affect any investigation into this matter?