Scott Ryan (President) | Hansard source

My observations then, Senator Wong, were on a reflection being made upon me, in a point of order taken before I'd had an opportunity to rule, on previous rulings. Now, if I could rule on this point of order, on this occasion I happen to agree. Under the previous standing orders, where the word 'relevance' was interpreted more liberally, talking about the topic more generally in my view was the precedent and considered appropriate by the Senate. The insertion of the word 'directly' narrowed the scope of what an answer is. In this case, I remind the minister of the question because talking about a broad policy area, in my view, is not being directly relevant. That said, I cannot instruct a minister on how to answer a question. So I remind the minister of the question. And I would ask that, when points of order are being taken, I be given an opportunity to rule before reflections are made on the rulings.