Prepping, for all sorts of hikes

Crude, rude or both?

A key Saudi pipeline bypassing the Strait of Hormuz has been shut down and Middle East crude oil is pushing towards US$120 a barrel. In response, Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, is off to Saudi Arabia next week (abc.net.au) to talk fuel security with his counterparts - Australia is sitting on 41 days of petrol supply, stated yesterday by the Minister as part of Labor MPs fielding complaints in Question Time about fuel prices over the weekend averaging 220-cents-a-litre nationally.

Away from Question Time, the Private Health Insurance reform bill did not pass in full yesterday as the government thought it would. Here's where to watch.

Today, in the House

The House picks up the Statute Update Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au) again, dealing with the Senate amendments that came back yesterday. Otherwise it's a rerun of yesterday's list: the National Student Ombudsman Levy Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au) and its companion, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Amendment (National Student Ombudsman Levy) Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au), is on again for debate, followed by the Knox Class Action (Facilitation) Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au), before the House returns, again, to the Private Health Insurance Amendment (Modernising the Private Health Insurance Rebate) Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au)

That bill dominated the entire day and evening on Monday and still isn't through second reading. The arguments haven't shifted: government MPs point to $11 billion in savings and a rebate structure that no longer scales with age; the Coalition and crossbench cite the government's own modelling (44,000 people expected to drop cover, with Medibank putting the real number closer to 91,000) and warn of couples losing up to $1,600 a year and individuals $807.

Other bills did get resolved, all via messages from the Senate:

• Regulatory Reform Omnibus Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au) returned with one technical Senate amendment shortening the disallowance period for Compensation Scheme of Last Resort levy determinations from 15 sitting days to five. It was agreed to 95–43 and is off for royal assent Major Sporting Events (Indicia and Images) Protection Amendment Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au) came back from the Senate unamended and is also through for royal assent
• The Online Safety Amendment (Strengthening Enforcement for the Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au) received royal assent by message from the Governor-General and has become Act no. 83 (legislation.gov.au) for this Parliament.

Today, in the Senate

Four health and therapeutic goods bills work through resumed second-reading debate:

• Health Legislation Amendment (Improving Choice and Transparency for Private Health Consumers) Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au), which opened last night and requires insurers to seek ministerial approval before changing premiums
• Health Insurance Amendment (Incentive Payments and Other Measures) Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au), which also renames the Health Insurance Act 1973 to the Medicare Act 1973
• Therapeutic Goods Amendment (Medicines Shortages and Other Measures) Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au) and its companion, the Therapeutic Goods (Charges) Amendment Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au)
• Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Technical Changes No. 2) Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au) continues too.

The Customs Amendment (Safeguard Inquiries) Bill 2026 (aph.gov.au) passed all stages with bipartisan support, transferring safeguard inquiries from the Productivity Commission to a renamed Australian Trade Remedies Commission (from the Anti-Dumping Commission (industry.gov.au)), though the Coalition flagged unfinished business on funding and on giving industry a direct pathway to trigger an inquiry, rather than relying on a ministerial referral. The bill extending the early childhood worker retention payment (aph.gov.au) (part of the package that finally cleared the House last week) continues debate from yesterday, which stalled on a Coalition amendment about the quality and safety conditions attached to the payment.

Two urgency motions were defeated: McGrath's (LNP) on cost of living, 22–32, and McKim's (Greens) on the potential privatisation of Melbourne Water by the Victorian government, 16–24.

From the committees

The House Standing Committee on Procedure tabled its report into disrespectful behaviour towards other members in the chamber (aph.gov.au) yesterday, with the committee being careful to frame its recommendations as compatible with robust debate, not a curb on it. They're all aimed at how the existing Behaviour Code for Australian Parliamentarians is understood and applied on the floor, including:

• refreshed and mandatory Safe and Respectful Workplaces training for members (published on a public completion register)
• extra induction training for new members
• joint guidance from the Speaker and Clerk on how the Code interacts with standing orders
• dedicated training for the Speaker's panel on identifying and de-escalating disrespectful conduct from the chair.

The House Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability also tabled its report on the health impacts of alcohol and other drugs in Australia (aph.gov.au), titled A Roadmap for Alcohol and Other Drugs Policy Reform in Australia. The committee has put the cost of addiction in the tens of billions of dollars and the report makes 30 recommendations, including a mandatory alcohol advertising and marketing framework, fresh modelling of the alcohol tax system, national standards for online alcohol sales and delivery, a national early warning system for illicit drugs, wider access to the Take Home Naloxone Program (health.gov.au), and mandatory alcohol and drug education in secondary schools and medical training.

Only one public hearing today: the Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs takes evidence on its inquiry into the relationship between domestic, family and sexual violence and suicide (aph.gov.au).

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Until tomorrow!

— Mia