The measure had been recommended by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, and agreed to by the states' energy ministers at a meeting in December.

On Friday, Queensland Energy Minister Anthony Lynham told the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that the state was "outraged at this total disregard for the basic principles of Commonwealth-state relations".

"Six weeks ago, Minster Taylor said a reference price was a safety net for customers.

"They’re treating electricity customers in Queensland and across the country with utter contempt," he said.

"This chaos and confusion will do one thing, and that’s drive up energy prices for consumers. Not only are they bad for energy policy, they are now dangerous."

However a spokesman for Mr Taylor described the claims as "incorrect" and said the government's policy "has not changed".

He said the Australian Energy Regulator was asked to develop both a default market offer and reference bill, to be implemented by July this year, and "that work is ongoing".

Australian Energy Council chief executive Sarah McNamara said the energy industry continued to support a reference bill to deliver real benefits to customers and "we are very concerned about any suggestion that the reference bill, recently endorsed by COAG energy ministers ... has been taken off the table by the federal government"

Meantime splits have surfaced between the Coalition partners after the government shelved plans to enact a "big stick" crackdown on power companies ahead of the May election, adding to the list of energy policies it has failed to legislate.

The Nationals are pushing for the bill to be considered in one of the few remaining sitting days before Parliament rises, but Finance Minister Mathias Cormann on Friday insisted the government would seek a mandate by taking the proposal to the next election.

The proposed legislation would force large energy companies to sell off assets if they were found to be misusing their market powers. The measure is central to the Morrison government’s signature pledge to curb skyrocketing power bills.

The government on Thursday pulled the bill after a Greens amendment, which would prevent taxpayer money being spent on new coal-fired plants, appeared to have gathered enough support to pass as part of the new laws.

The retreat means the government cannot spruik the success of the laws during the election campaign and has provoked consternation within the Nationals, which believes energy costs for households and businesses are a vote-swaying issue in regional Australia.

Senator McKenzie told Sky News on Friday that “our intention as a government to introduce that legislation in the April sittings” – a move that would help keep the issue alive in voters’ minds weeks out from the election.

However Senator Cormann poured water on those suggestions, telling Sky News that “we will take this legislation to the next election”.

“The introduction of the bill is one thing, but we believe the biggest stick that we can get in order to drive electricity prices down is a mandate from the Australian people at the next election," he said.

The energy industry, business groups and experts have argued that the big stick proposal may perversely cause power prices to rise.

The government will argue that Labor’s opposition to the big stick proposal proves it is siding with big energy companies rather than consumers. However Labor is expected to counter that by pointing to state-owned power assets in Queensland, saying uncertainties in the laws may see divested entities fall into private hands.

A clutch of marginal Queensland seats are set to shape the outcome of the election, and the privatisation of public assets is highly unpopular with voters in that state.

Queensland Energy Minister Anthony Lynham on Friday told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that “Queenslanders have made their views clear at two elections: public ownership of electricity assets is non-negotiable”.

Queensland Nationals MP Keith Pitt accused Labor of abandoning the coal industry by supporting the Greens amendment to ban public underwriting of new coal plants.

“This is an ideological position for the Labor party, they have been taken over by the left wing and the Greens. They are against Australian resources [and] we are not,” he said.

Mr Pitt claimed the amendment would damage coal exports, before being forced to concede this was not the case.

Taxpayer support for coal-fired power plants is a option that sits uneasily with some in the Liberal Party who believe the government should embrace the renewables transition.

Meantime, the government faces a repeat of this week's embarrassment of a loss in the House of Representatives when it resumes on Monday.

On Thursday night the Senate passed a Labor amendment to a Treasury bill which would give small businesses financial protection if they decide to take competition action against a larger competitor, by ensuring the firm did not have to pay the legal costs of the business it was fighting.

Senator Cormann conceded to the Senate that the government did not have the numbers to prevent the proposal being passed by the Upper House.

On Monday it will go to the House of Representatives where the motion is expected to have support of the crossbench and among parts of the National Party that would ensure its passage.

The national small business and family enterprise ombudsman, Kate Carnell, on Friday backed the Labor bill.

Ms Carnell, who was appointed to the position by the government, said the proposal would help small firms access justice when taking on the big end of town.

It leaves the government the choice of stopping its own bill, which covers taxation around managed investment trusts, or agreeing to it with the Labor amendments.