PM tries to rally troops amid defection

Malcolm Turnbull has sought to rally his coalition troops amid the impending defection of renegade Liberal senator Cory Bernardi from the government.

Addressing the first meeting of the joint coalition parties in Canberra on Tuesday, the prime minister put energy prices at the top of the government's agenda as well as company tax cuts.

"Bill Shorten is a threat to every household budget, to every business, to every job," he told colleagues of the Labor leader.

Mr Shorten adopting his new guise as a populist protectionist was leading Australia into a dead end of poverty, he said.

The coalition, on the other hand, would create an environment where there will be more investment and better paid jobs.

"Everything we stand for is designed to back hardworking Australians," Mr Turnbull said.