Mr Abbott still has strong support among his backbench, the majority of which backed him over gay marriage, but he faces a test on September 19, which was confirmed on Monday as the date of the Canning by-election, caused by the death of Western Australian Liberal MP Don Randall. A Newspoll published in today's The Australian showed Canning was at risk with a 10-percentage point swing towards Labor.

MPs being sounded out said the approaches appeared to be informal and not being done with the imprimatur of either Mr Morrison or Mr Turnbull.

Last night, the cabinet sought to end the same-sex marriage split by discussing options for a national vote and when it would be held. But it failed to make a decision following tense discussions. Next week's cabinet meeting has been cancelled, meaning the issue could fester for another fortnight.

Sources said a push for a referendum mounted by conservatives, led by Scott Morrison, lost steam amid threats from moderates that it was a ploy to kill gay marriage and would cause a civil war inside the Liberal Party if persisted with.

Christopher Pyne and Scott Morrison during question time at Parliament House. Andrew Meares

Mr Turnbull, Julie Bishop, Attorney-General George Brandis, Christopher Pyne and Simon Birmingham were among the ministers calling publicly for a plebiscite, saying a referendum was unnecessary.

Senator Birmingham said a referendum, which was constitutionally unwarranted and would have little hope of passing, would be "trickery".

Plebiscite consensus


As cabinet met, there was a consensus forming around a plebiscite in which voting would be compulsory and there would be equal public funding for a yes and no campaign. Sources close to Mr Abbott said he wanted the matter resolved quickly but earlier in the day he said it could take "a couple of weeks".

Mr Abbott continued to insist that any plebiscite be held after the next federal election while other Liberals, including Mr Turnbull, were still pushing for it to be held at or before the next election.

MPs said the approaches from the Turnbull and Morrison camps did not appear to be co-ordinated and there were different views as to who would be leader should the matter come to a head again. One would be leader and the other treasurer while Julie Bishop would stay as deputy.

One source said it was broadly regarded inside the party that Mr Morrison going public last week with his support for a referendum – the method most likely to kill the same-sex marriage push – "was seen as Scott making a play for Tony's [conservative] base".

He said the optimism that had been generated in the wake of the May budget had long since evaporated. The latest Fairfax/Ipsos poll published Monday showed Labor leading the Coalition by 54 per cent to 46 per cent. That entrenched poll deficit has been pretty much the situation since the politically disastrous 2014 budget.

A strong supporter of Mr Abbott did not deny that MPs were talking among themselves but was confident that the spectre of being regarded as badly as Labor – which deposed two prime ministers – would ultimately guard against another spill.

The poll also showed a record 69 per cent support for same-sex marriage.

Focus on jobs


The government is attempting to steer the national debate back onto "jobs, growth and community safety".

This is being hamstrung by a lack of a reform agenda, the crisis threatening the credibility of Justice Dyson Heydon and the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption, and Liberal Party infighting over gay marriage.

Mr Morrison told reporters on Monday the government was focused on jobs.

"While there's been some superficiality in debate and commentary in recent times I think the Australian people should rest easy that this is a government focused on their concerns," he said.

Treasurer Joe Hockey said while "everyone else was talking about other issues" last week, he was discussing trade and investment with Chinese officials.

"We've got to focus on policy, we've got to focus on what really matters to 100 per cent of the Australian community and that is jobs and growth and community security," he said.

Last week, both men, in interviews with the ABC – Mr Hockey on Radio National and Mr Morrison on 7.30 – put their respective views on gay marriage about having a referendum.

Entsch introduces bill


On Monday morning, in an act of both futility and defiance, Liberal MP Warren Entsch introduced his bill to legalise same-sex marriage into Parliament.

Mr Abbott, who will block any attempts to enable the bill to be debated or put to a vote, scheduled a visit to the Australian Federal Police headquarters to coincide with Mr Entsch's moment.

While the Labor benches were relatively full, just two ministers, Mr Pyne and Mr Turnbull, were present for Mr Entsch's speech. Labor leader Bill Shorten was also present. Another minister, Senator Birmingham, sat in the chamber in support.

"This bill does not create different classes of marriage, it is not putting a marriage between a same-sex couple above that of a heterosexual couple or vice versa," Mr Entsch said.

He said the bill protects religious freedoms on two counts. First, it exempts churches and other religious groups from having to marry gay couples if that is what they choose. Secondly, because "you cannot replace one form of prejudice and discrimination with another".

"This bill is designed to promote an inclusive Australia, not a divided one, a divided nation is what we will be if we continue to allow discrimination in relation to marriage on the basis of a person's sexuality," he said.

"The co-sponsors acknowledge and accept there are strong and conflicting views on marriage equality and we certainly respect those views. In addition, we are not in any way trying to change those views. However, we do what we believe is right."