A newly aggressive Malcolm Turnbull has accused Labor of being "drunk on left ideology" as he blamed the rush to renewables for another serious blackout in South Australia, while defending his own emphasis on gas and coal-fired generation.
And the opposition has hit back, slamming the government's welfare cuts, and describing Mr Turnbull's hardened parliamentary presentation as an attempt to shore up his job.
More National News Videos
- Video duration
- 01:27
Turnbull v Shorten: Round 2
Turnbull v Shorten: Round 2
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has taken his attack on Bill Shorten even further, with the Labor leader landing a few of his own blows. Courtesy ABC News 24.
Up Next
MH17: Hanson excuses Putin
- Video duration
- 01:03
- Video duration
- 01:03
MH17: Hanson excuses Putin
MH17: Hanson excuses Putin
The One Nation leader and colleague Malcolm Robert express their admiration for the Russian president despite the downing of MH17.
Up Next
SA Government passes blame on power outage
- Video duration
- 03:48
- Video duration
- 03:48
SA Government passes blame on power outage
SA Government passes blame on power outage
The South Australian government has hit back, blaming the national energy market operator for the blackout that affected 90,000 Adelaide homes and businesses.
Up Next
Acquitted man again charged with childrens murder
- Video duration
- 01:40
- Video duration
- 01:40
Acquitted man again charged with ...
Acquitted man again charged with childrens murder
A man, whoâs name has been withheld for legal reasons, has been charged with the murder of three children from Bowraville in the early 90âs, after being originally acquitted of the crime.
Up Next
The melt test on a hot Sydney day
- Video duration
- 01:09
- Video duration
- 01:09
The melt test on a hot Sydney day
The melt test on a hot Sydney day
When temperatures tipped 45 degrees in January 2013 we timed how long it took the heat to destroy an ice block.
Up Next
How many women did this couple kill?
- Video duration
- 00:30
- Video duration
- 00:30
How many women did this couple kill?
How many women did this couple kill?
Australia's worst serial killers, David and Catherine Birnie may have killed more women than they were convicted for in 1986, suggests new series on Channel Seven, Murder Uncovered. Vision: Network Seven
Up Next
One politician's crusade for free travel
- Video duration
- 01:29
- Video duration
- 01:29
One politician's crusade for free travel
One politician's crusade for free travel
Veteran Liberal Senator Ian Macdonald is pushing to keep the Life Gold Pass that gives former parliamentarians taxpayer-funded business class travel for life.
Up Next
Double your internet
- Video duration
- 02:06
- Video duration
- 02:06
Double your internet
Double your internet
A simple hack for those of us lucky enough to have the NBN could give you some of the fastest internet in Australia. Video courtesy TechWiz Time.
Turnbull v Shorten: Round 2
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has taken his attack on Bill Shorten even further, with the Labor leader landing a few of his own blows. Courtesy ABC News 24.
Speculation flared briefly on Thursday over a series of one-on-one meetings Mr Turnbull has been holding with Coalition backbenchers this week.
Some of those meetings have lasted 30 minutes or so and others have been shorter. On Thursday night, the Prime Minister was due to host Queensland Coalition MPs at the Lodge for dinner.
Related Content
Mr Turnbull's office denied suggestions that the talks were unusual, amid speculation that Mr Turnbull had grown nervous over his poor polling and was eager to ward off any potential leadership manoeuvrings.
Leaping on the South Australian situation, Mr Turnbull said: "It is shocking to think that you would lose power in 41 degrees in modern Australia."
The Coalition has warned that South Australia's electricity troubles provide a worrying glimpse of what Bill Shorten would do nationally if elected.
"They (Labor) have literally walked, mindlessly, into this disastrous situation," Mr Turnbull told local radio.
Some 90,000 premises were blacked out in the central state for around 30 minutes on Wednesday evening as 40-degree temperatures and an absence of wind saw demand exceed supply, forcing sections of the grid to shut down.
In Canberra, as the government capitalised on the black-out, the opposition hammered instead at the planned welfare cuts, arguing they proved the government had its priorities wrong.
"How out-of-touch is it to give a $50 billion corporate tax giveaway to the largest companies in Australia and, at the same time, chase Centrelink recipients for a few hundred dollars? How out-of-touch is it to propose a $50 billion corporate tax cut, which the big banks will get $7.4 billion extra in their bottom line, and at the same time, take money, family payments from a million Australian families?," Mr Shorten said.
The disconnect marked the battlelines of an intensifying political contest in early 2017 after Mr Turnbull stepped up his aggression on Wednesday, branding Mr Shorten a fraud, a parasite, and a sycophant of billionaires.
Mr Shorten responded to that by saying: "He is under enormous pressure . . . and this may sound a little unusual, I even feel a bit sorry for him because I think he came in as Prime Minister when people had such high hopes for him. But obviously, you all work in Canberra, you hear that the drums are beating. There is leadership instability in the ranks of the Liberal Party. And what he is doing is he is firing up about his own job."
Encouraged by the positive reaction of colleagues, Mr Turnbull repeated those insults and went further, raising new questions about the Opposition Leader's integrity and character for leadership.
With the government upbeat after a Mr Turnbull's aggressive pivot, and buoyed by the South Australian black-out, Treasurer Scott Morrison produced a lump of black coal in Parliament to taunt the opposition over energy.
"This is coal. Don't be afraid," he said waving it about in contravention of the standing orders.
"There's no word for coal-a-phobia officially but it's the malady that's afflicting those opposite."
Ministers then handed the hamburger-sized piece along the frontbench although it stopped abruptly when the pregnant Assistant Treasurer, Kelly O'Dwyer, refused to handle it.
The improved atmosphere within the government saw Coalition MPs heading back to their electorates with greater optimism after a week that had started out with grim polling, a defection, and a gathering Labor attack over welfare cuts.
Picking up on the new approach of their leader, ministers also stepped up their attacks on Mr Shorten. Nationals leader and Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce let fly, complaining that Mr Shorten had waged a class war over welfare and was attempting to demonise Mr Turnbull's wealth.
He said he would rather a successful leader than someone "with the arse out of their pants who has never made a buck".
"Remember, Mr Turnbull owns a nice stack on the harbour because he's worked very hard and been successful," Mr Joyce said.
"That's what we want in this nation. We should celebrate success.
"The thing about Mr Shorten is he's such a hypocrite, because we all know he spends his whole life swanning it with Solly Lew and Richard Pratt and flying round in their jets and good luck and God bless him but don't go to the dispatch box, Mr Shorten, and start this confected outrage of you and the working man as if you're Clark from the coalmine in Wales. You're not."