Welcome back to your weekly federal politics update, where Courtney Gould gets you up to speed on the happenings from Parliament House.

Chris Bowen is known for his distinct attack style during Question Time. He sits patiently, thumbing through his binder until it's time for him to pounce in the manner of an auctioneer. 

The words start to blend together. He'll be wagging his finger at the opposition and you'll be unsure exactly what is being said. Then you'll suddenly decipher three or four words that have something to do with the uptake of solar or batteries in the person who asked the question's electorate.

But as he strode up to the despatch box this week, he adjusted. 

Panic buying in regional communities and localised shortages had driven up fears about Australia’s fuel security as the conflict in Iran stifled global oil supplies.

The uncertainty of just how long oil tankers will be unable to sail through the Strait of Hormuz — which typically carries around 20 per cent of global oil supply — gave the Coalition an avenue to pile on the pressure.

After a poor showing last week, the opposition came armed with stories from concerned business owners and farmers about their access to diesel and petrol. All but two questions, including from the crossbench, were on the matter on Wednesday after they ramped up the pressure the day prior.

Bowen still had the tenor of an auctioneer but one acutely aware of the uncertainty ahead. He was more subdued as he spoke about Australia's fuel security. He acknowledged we were not immune to the volatility.

He sought to reassure motorists that Australia was okay. We have 36 days' supply of petrol, 34 days' of diesel and 32 days' of jet fuel based on normal consumption patterns, he said. Existing deliveries were arriving as planned. Panic buying was to blame for the rest.

The department had been directed to provide daily updates on the fuel reserves. A meeting between government and industry, including farmers, was convened. A crackdown was announced on "suspicious" price spikes. The competition watchdog also demanded further explanations from retailers about their prices.

By Thursday, fuel quality standards were temporarily relaxed so 100 million litres of additional supply could flow.

High petrol prices have the wonderful ability to bring all sides of politics together. They act as an often unavoidable reminder about the cost of living.

While the government tried to downplay concerns about fuel supplies it downright avoided the big question of the week: are we at war?

As my brilliant colleague Stephen Dziedzic wrote this week, it's a completely reasonable question to ask considering Australia has sent one of its reconnaissance planes over to the Middle East after a request from the United Arab Emirates.

Everyone from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to Foreign Minister Penny Wong were eager to avoid the "w" word. Australia was joining defensive action to Iran's retaliatory strikes, they argued.

Albanese argued we were not protagonists in the war on Iran waged by the US and Israel. But just because we're not a main character it doesn't mean we're not part of the story.

Australia's entrance into the theatre of the Middle East conflict coincided with the Iranian women's soccer team's participation in the AFC Asian Cup.

The plight of the squad, known as the Lionesses, garnered international attention after several players refused to sing the Iranian national anthem before a match in Australia.

Labelled "traitors" by Iranian state television, there were concerns about the safety of the women on their return. A delicate operation began to offer a majority of the team, and the support staff, asylum in Australia before they departed Sydney Airport on Wednesday evening.

Five members of the team left their Gold Coast hotel. They were taken by police for an early morning meeting with Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, who signed the paperwork for their humanitarian visas then and there. Another player and support person joined the next day.

Despite accusations to the contrary from Iran, Burke stressed the goal of officials was that every player had agency to make their own choice. He argued the decision of one of the players to return to Iran after making the call to stay in Australia was an example of this.

Hours after the government gave itself a pat on the back for helping out the Iranian women, it outlined its plan to block others from coming to Australia.

Caucus had rubber stamped new powers that would stop people from nominated countries entering Australia for up to six months if they are on temporary visas, such as for holidays or business.

The decision is amid concern they will come and overstay their visas due to the conflict. Iran is not mentioned in the legislation, Burke said later it was the country of concern at the moment. Australia currently has around 7,000 visitor visas issued to Iranians who are not currently here.

While the new powers would not apply to those who are granted a humanitarian visa, like the soccer players, the whiplash from how quickly the government went from celebrating its move to introducing the powers was stark.

The Greens called it "a new low" and branded it as hypocritical. Meanwhile, the Coalition outlined its support in principle.

While all of this was happening, the Nationals were handed a shock by a "buggered" David Littleproud. After staving off a leadership challenge only last month, he was stepping down.

The outgoing leader was emotional as he talked up his record. He wants to be remembered like Nationals legend John "Black Jack" McEwen. The reality is he oversaw two Coalition break-ups and several defections from the party room. He argues none of this was his fault.

In recent months, there has been a perception that Matt Canavan has been pulling the strings behind the scenes. He led the case against net zero, for example. Canavan won a three-cornered contest with Kevin Hogan and Bridget McKenzie to take the top job for himself.

He faces an uphill battle to win back voters lost to One Nation but there is hope the senator, who started his political career working for Barnaby Joyce, is the man to take the fight to Pauline Hanson.

The first test on whether his "hyper Australia" rallying cry is working will come at the Farrer by-election on May 9.