QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Senator WONG (South Australia—Minister for Foreign Affairs and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (14:38): There has been a change in policy. The government is upfront about that, and the Prime Minister has been upfront about that. Why have we changed our position?

We have changed our view because we look to what is occurring in this country and the intergenerational inequity that is becoming entrenched, and so— The PRESIDENT: Senator Cash, on a point of order Senator Cash: It is on direct relevance. The government have broken a promise. I'm interested in knowing how many times before the election the Prime Minister said he wouldn't make changes.

The PRESIDENT: Senator Cash, I will entertain your points of order, but they are to be made without statements. The minister is being directly relevant. She has only just started her response, and I will continue to listen carefully.

If the minister isn't being directly relevant, I will remind her of your question. Senator WONG: I have heard the question, and I have acknowledged upfront that this is a change in policy. We are upfront about that.

This is a change of policy, and we are upfront about it. But what the senator doesn't want to discuss is the why—because they have no substance, because they are not able to articulate a clear tax policy— The PRESIDENT: Senator Cash, on a point of order? Senator Cash: With all due respect, it's on direct relevance.

This is a question I posed in relation to something that happened prior to the election. For example, 97 times you said 275— The PRESIDENT: Senator Cash, you are making a statement again. The minister is being relevant, and I will continue to listen.

Senator WONG: I again say we are upfront about the fact that we have changed the policy position. Senator Cash interjecting— Senator WONG: Senator, I know that what you want to do is have a process argument, an argument about that, because you cannot actually engage with the policy. You are incapable of engaging with the policy, and you are incapable as an opposition— The PRESIDENT: Senator Cash, on a point of order?

Senator Cash: I'm going to keep trying—direct relevance. The leader of the government is refusing to engage in the question. How many times!

The PRESIDENT: Thank you, Senator Cash. The minister is being relevant to your question, and I will continue to listen carefully—and I'd ask for silence so that I can hear the minister. Senator WONG: Senator Cash, you're entitled to ask me a question; you are not entitled to determine how I answer.

I have been very clear that we have changed our policy position, and we are upfront about that. We have done it because of what the budget papers tell us and what young people tell us, which is that that Australian aspiration—that Australian dream—of homeownership is slipping away from generations of Australians, and we do not wish to stand for it. That is, fundamentally, the issue.

You will hear from this opposition, with all the drama that Senator Cash can muster, a lot of discussion about that. What you will not hear is what they are going to do to ensure young Australians can own their own home. The PRESIDENT: Senator Cash, first supplementary?