Senator McCARTHY (Northern Territory—Minister for Indigenous Australians) (14:54): Thank you, Senator Thorpe, for the question. I think, as minister, it's probably my first question from you. What I will say is that the history of this— Senator Thorpe: It won't be the last. Senator McCARTHY: Well, the first at question time. You've had plenty in estimates; there's no doubt about that—and I'm sure there will be more to come. Certainly, the history of this country is fraught with policies that have impacted, very negatively, the lives of First Nations people, including the stolen generations, in terms of the high rates of removals from the 1800s right up to the 1970s. What this government has done is redress those issues in trying to work with the stolen generations reparations— The PRESIDENT: Senator Thorpe, on a point of order? Senator Thorpe: Relevance: it was about genocidal policies against us. It wasn't about what her government is doing. The PRESIDENT: Senator Thorpe, there was a significant preamble to the last part of your question which the minister is entitled to address and is addressing. Senator Thorpe: Well, people are watching! Senator McCARTHY: I'm more than happy for people to watch. I think it's important that people should see what democracy is all about and how debates take place in this Senate—those that are sensible and those that are nonsensical. But I will say this: the policies of the past have impacted First Nations people. We are seeing that addressed in the redress, as I was saying to the Senate today, in terms of the stolen generations. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of families across Australia still traumatised by the policies of the day, by governments from way back in the 1800s through to the 1970s. I know that the parliament of Australia today is acutely aware of that. Was it the right thing to do? Senator Thorpe: Point of order on relevance— The PRESIDENT: The minister is being directly relevant to your question, Senator Thorpe. Senator McCARTHY: The trauma that many First Nations families experienced throughout that history still occurs today in this country. The trauma that impacts our families results in the high rates of removals of our children from their families. It also results in the high rates of incarceration in our justice systems across the country. And that is why the national agreement on Closing the Gap was implemented. The PRESIDENT: Senator Thorpe, first supplementary?