Senator WONG (South Australia—Minister for Foreign Affairs and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (14:37): Senator, first—and thank you for the question—I think all of us are horrified to read of some of this individual's offending history. As I said yesterday—and I hope this is above politics—everyone in this chamber, all of us, want our children to be safe. I would demur, or take issue with, again, the wording of your question, Senator Reynolds. The coalition—because you are focused on a political fight, not on fixing this—continue to suggest that it is a choice of the government to release these individuals. Senator Cash: Well, it is. The PRESIDENT: Senator Cash! Senator Cash: Will you apply for a community detention order? The PRESIDENT: Senator Cash! Senator Cash interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Senator Cash, you're not arguing with me. I am calling you to order. Minister Wong, please continue. Senator WONG: I again say those opposite continue in their attempt to make this a political issue, using words, which they know to be incorrect, which suggest that the government made a choice. The government did not make a choice. The government had— The PRESIDENT: Order! Senator Wong, please resume your seat. Senator Reynolds? Senator Reynolds: Thank you, Madam President. I have a point of order on relevance. Well over a minute into the answer, the minister has come nowhere near answering the very specific question of whether the government will apply for a community safety order. The PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator Reynolds. There was a preamble to your question, and the minister is being entirely relevant to the question. Senator WONG: Thank you, and I again make the point that Senator Reynolds chose in her question to use a form of words that Senator Cash and others have used in an attempt to politicise this issue and to suggest that it is a government's choice. It is not a government's choice. This decision— Opposition senators interjecting— Senator WONG: No, this decision was imposed on us by the High Court. The PRESIDENT: Minister, please resume your seat. Senator Reynolds? Senator Reynolds: Again, I rise on a point of order. It was a very specific question, and the minister has 24 seconds less. The question was: will they be applying for the order? The PRESIDENT: Senator Reynolds— Senator Reynolds: The minister has come nowhere within cooee— The PRESIDENT: Senator Reynolds— Senator Reynolds: of answering the question. I would very— The PRESIDENT: Senator Reynolds, this is not a time for you to make a debate with me. Resume your seat. Senator Reynolds, you are disobeying my request. The point of order was exactly the same as the point of order you made before. The minister is— Opposition senators interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Order! Do not interject against me. A senator has a right to call a point of order. It's a short, sharp request. It is not a statement. I didn't ask you to relitigate the question. The point of order was exactly the same as the one you made before, and my ruling is exactly the same, and that is that the minister is being directly relevant to your question. Senator WONG: When these laws are finalised in the parliament, the parliament and the government will have fixed the mess which Mr Dutton left, and these detention orders can be sought. The PRESIDENT: Senator Reynolds, first supplementary?