Learn French: Le ministre nous la fait respecter. - The minister is having us respect it.

In the causative faire construction, the causative verb (fait) and the infinitive (respecter) act together as a single verbal block. Any object pronouns for either verb must be placed before faire, never between the two verbs.

Why is the order nous la and not la nous?

French has a strict set order for double pronouns placed before a verb. First and second-person pronouns (like me, te, nous, vous) always precede third-person direct objects (le, la, les). Therefore, nous must come before la.

Is nous acting as a direct or indirect object in this sentence?

It is an indirect object. In a causative sentence, if the infinitive verb receives a direct object (represented here by la), the person being made to perform the action (the causee, nous) automatically becomes an indirect object. The underlying structure is faire respecter quelque chose à quelqu'un.

Could this sentence also translate to "The minister is making us respect it"?

Yes. The causative faire can translate as either "to make someone do something" or "to have someone do something" depending on context. Both translations are perfectly valid for this sentence.