Malcolm Turnbull has been labelled a "piss-weak" prime minister by Labor MP Nick Champion as the government looks to redesign a recommended clean energy target.
The rebuke comes with former prime minister Tony Abbott telling the coalition partyroom on Tuesday a clean energy target grafted onto the existing renewable energy target - which he wants scrapped - would be a difficult position to sustain.
"Malcolm Turnbull is a piss-weak prime minister and he's trying to implement Tony Abbott's uncertainty tax," Mr Champion told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.
The MP warned uncertainty about new investment would continue to drive up household power bills.
Greens MP Adam Bandt fears the clean energy target is going to give way to a "dirty" energy target, which includes coal.
"Malcolm Turnbull is set to become Old King Coal," he said.
Labor frontbencher Jason Clare said the opposition was willing to offer bipartisanship on a clean energy target.
"We've said it's a second best option but it may be the only option that can get through this parliament," he said.
"But you can't negotiate with an empty chair."
Nationals MP Keith Pitt said there was no policy proposal on the table and his focus was on driving down the price of electricity.
Colleague Luke Hartsukyer insists there is only one thing that can deliver reliable power 24/7 and that is having a substantial baseline component such as coal-fired generation.
"It is absolutely ridiculous to have an over reliance on renewable energy which simply can't deliver the baseload power that's needed to provide the energy Australia needs."
