Just as it gathers steam on coal, the Coalition is derailed by penalty rates | Katharine Murphy

A decision the government had months to prepare for wrong-foots Malcolm Turnbull as he was finally lifting his party's post-election gloom

Malcolm Turnbull lost more than his voice this week, he washed up on the losing side of a critical political battle.

The Coalition came back from the summer with a simple political strategy: strand Labor uncomfortably on energy policy between its inner city progressive supporters and its traditional working base.