Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

Mr President, on a point of order: the assertion made by the senator is that, because she writes to the minister telling him the question, he has to give her the answer that she wants. This is a nonsense. Senator Carr has been very relevant, directly trying to deal with the issues raised by the senator, directly relevant to the issues that are already on the Notice Paper. Given the question has been allowed, Senator Carr has been enormously helpful on an issue that has been covered up hill and down dale in this parliament and at estimates for a long time. The bottom line is: just because the senator writes advising of the question does not mean the minister is required to give the answer that she wants.