Liberal front bencher Malcolm Turnbull's critical assessment of the party's climate policy received disapproval from Coalition MPs, the latter described him as a "disgrace" and "off on a frolic".

However, Labor commended Turnbull today after he suggested the opposition's direct action policy would cost taxpayers billions and be certainly wound back.

Liberal MPs expressed distrust and fury at his remarks. “It was a disgrace. He's never been a team player; he never will be a team player. He lacks discipline. He is out there on a frolic of his own and he doesn't represent Coalition policy,” one MP said.

Another said, “It's probably frustrating for him to see Tony going so well. I can't imagine he would have too much support this morning from his colleagues.”

Turnbull was interviewed about Labor's mainland launch yesterday of the National Broadband Network.

As observed by a Liberal backbencher, now is not the right time for Turnbull to express his honest views as he had spent most of his time on climate policy, especially that he is the party's communications spokesman.

He subsequently voted in favor of Labor’s scheme, arguing that an emissions trading scheme was the ideal way to reduce carbon emissions.

Turnbull emphasized in an interview that the Coalition's direct action policy was not the best way to cut emissions in the long term as it would cost a very expensive charge on the government’s budget in the succeeding years.

Liberal climate spokesman Greg Hunt’s statement, that the Coalition direct action policy was a market-based mechanism for putting a price on carbon, was also opposed by Turnbull.

With the remark that he was one of the few people in the Coalition committed to tackling global warming, Finance Minister Penny Wong today praised Turnbull.

Greg Combet, Minster of Climate Change, also extoled Turnbull, saying he “makes absolutely clear that taxpayers will have to foot the bill for Abbott's do-nothing policy."