Recent days have offered outsiders a rare glimpse of hard-edged politics behind closed doors, while also displaying how Malcolm Turnbull plans to rework bellicose Abbott-era arguments into actual runs on the board.

Derryn Hinch revealed that being the pivotal number in restoring the Australian Building and Construction Commission was "probably more pressure than I've ever felt in my life".

The "Human Headline" even quipped that he'd have preferred if the Coalition had a Senate majority so he wouldn't have to be "the man in the middle".

But if he was shopping for a new nickname, he might opt for "the Hinch-pin" because "Malcolm in the middle" is already taken.