It was a case of duelling press releases on Tuesday afternoon as NSW Coalition partners the Nationals and the Liberals sought to take credit for halting Essential Energy's proposed job cuts.

Energy Minister, the Liberals' Matt Kean, was first out of the blocks, issuing a release taking credit for the development.

"Following conversations between the NSW Government and Essential Energy regarding proposed job cuts to Essential Energy staff, today I am announcing my intention to issue a direction to Essential Energy to halt the proposed job cuts," the release stated.

But it was a slightly different message coming from deputy premier (and NSW Nationals leader) John Barilaro when his press release hit the inboxes of newsrooms across the state.

It's unlikely Mr Barilaro has made any friends within the Liberal Party as he has sought to distance his own party from the proposed job cuts, and he was holding out no olive branch on Tuesday afternoon, either.

"I'm pleased to announce, after weeks of calling on Essential Energy to abandon proposed job cuts, the state-owned corporation will halt this decision, thanks to the NSW Nationals in government," Mr Barilaro's press release said.

"We worked with stakeholders, we listened to communities, we stayed firm on our position and we've now achieved a major victory for regional NSW."

So who do we believe? Is this the work of the Energy Minister and a victory for the Liberals, or is it solely thanks to the Nationals under Mr Barilaro's leadership?

Under a properly functioning Coalition, it would not matter because a victory for one would be seen as a victory for all. That's clearly not the case here.

This whole debacle has exposed divisions within the Coalition that can benefit neither partner.

It has also demonstrated the danger to a democracy of an ineffective opposition.

The Labor Party in this state has not recovered from a poor performance at the NSW election in March which was exacerbated by a federal election loss in May.

With no opposition to battle, the Nats and Libs have turned on each other.

It's not good for the Coalition, and probably not good for the state.