Portfolio — 13 May 2026

Attorney-General Michelle Rowland's parliamentary activity on 13 May 2026 ran across two distinct tracks: budget advocacy and substantive law reform. Her most consequential legislative contribution was the second reading of the Secrecy Provisions Amendment (Repealing Offences) Bill 2026, which she framed as fulfilling the government's commitment to comprehensive secrecy reform [TA-260513-house-ee1b85aea947:s126].

The bill removes criminal liability from more than 300 existing secrecy provisions, confining sanctions to circumstances where protection of genuinely sensitive information is essential. Simultaneously, the legislation introduces a new targeted offence covering the improper use or communication of Commonwealth information to obtain a benefit or cause detriment — a measure Rowland said closes gaps in the framework and strengthens press-freedom safeguards [TA-260513-house-ee1b85aea947:s126].

The government opposed an amendment moved by the member for Clark; the amendment was not resolved, and the bill returns to the House for further consideration.

Rowland also used the chamber to advance the parallel whistleblower reform agenda, noting that a public consultation has opened on an exposure draft for the second stage of changes to the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 [TA-260513-house-ee1b85aea947:s126]. She traced the reform lineage to the 2016 Philip Moss independent review and to whistleblower law improvements introduced in 2023, signalling that further legislation on this front is forthcoming.

The secrecy and whistleblower streams together present a coherent Attorney-General posture: narrowing the reach of criminal secrecy law while strengthening accountability mechanisms for public-sector information.

On budget advocacy, Rowland championed the Albanese government's fifth budget in her electorate-facing contribution, describing it as the most ambitious in decades [TA-260513-house-ee1b85aea947:s105]. She highlighted housing affordability measures — tax rule changes and new home construction — alongside a permanent $250 tax cut per worker that, combined with prior cuts, delivers roughly $2,800 to the average-income Australian when fully implemented.

The $14.8 billion Strengthening Australia's Fuel Resilience package featured prominently in her remarks, covering fuel supply security, supply chain reinforcement and protection against future fuel shocks. Rowland also catalogued local electorate deliverables: a free bulk-billed Medicare urgent-care clinic and a new hospital in Rouse Hill, road upgrades, the M12 Motorway, new parks, and several new schools across Tallawong, the Gables and Box Hill [TA-260513-house-ee1b85aea947:s105].

The day's record shows Rowland operating in two registers simultaneously — portfolio law reform through the secrecy bill, and broader government messaging on the budget — with the whistleblower consultation serving as a bridge between her legal-reform agenda and the accountability themes the government has run across the term.