Senator McCARTHY (Northern Territory—Minister for Indigenous Australians) (14:27): I certainly put on the record that this isn't about wanting to see any early deaths of anyone at all—whether it's in prisons or out of prisons for that matter. I have spoken with the crossbenchers in particular, Senator Thorpe, on the direction that I'm taking in working with the states and territories to ensure that the concerns that we've raised around the high incarceration rates and the deaths in custody are being listened to. The PRESIDENT: Minister McCarthy, please resume your seat. Senator Thorpe. Senator Thorpe: I just want to know when you're going to use the powers— The PRESIDENT: Senator Thorpe, why are you on your feet? Senator Thorpe: Yes, President. Obviously I'm on my feet. The PRESIDENT: But are you on a point of order? Senator Thorpe: A point of order on relevance. The question is whether the minister is going to use her federal powers to stop the deaths that continue to rise of Aboriginal people in custody. The PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator Thorpe. The minister is being directly relevant to your question. Minister McCarthy. Senator McCARTHY: In the preparation that I am doing in regard to joint council meeting with the Coalition of Peaks, of course the federal funding—that's the relationships that we have with states and territories—is an area that I am looking at and trying to work on with my colleagues to see if we can absolutely hold states and territories to account.