Turnbull government moderates believe the character of the government changed last week when Australians backed marriage equality.

Call it wishful thinking but the clear mandate has emboldened small-L liberals who had long struggled against the tide of right-wing virtue signalling within the government.

Now they have virtue of their own to signal, courtesy of voters.

With a 79.5 per cent participation rate and a 61.6 per cent "yes" verdict, the survey was a blunt rejection of Tony Abbott and his religious confreres. And crucially, it came via a direct public buy-in they had demanded.