Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says he doesn't feel indebted to the Trump administration, after negotiating Australia's refugee resettlement deal with the United States.



The White House says the asylum-seeker deal will go ahead but US officials will vet refugees before allowing them to resettle.

Mr Turnbull has told Channel 9 there is no expectation that Australia must do anything in return, including deploying military forces at Mr Trump's request.

"We assess all requests for military assistance on their merits and there is no linkage at all between an arrangement relating to refugee resettlement and any other matters."



Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is urging Labor to back a plebiscite on gay marriage.



Former prime minister Tony Abbott has warned against allowing a free vote on the issue in parliament.



Labor frontbencher Terri Butler is pushing for the government to support a free vote and says she's willing to work with any coalition member to make it happen.

She says people want MPs to back a free vote on marriage equality.



"The people who are elected to this parliament are people who are elected to do a job. The Australian people did not elect a majority of parliamentarians who support a plebiscite. But the Australian people did elect a majority of parliamentarians who support marriage equality. Labor has said we will work with anyone to get marriage equality done in this parliament. We want to see a free vote on the floor of the parliament on a bill to amend the Marriage Act."

But Mr Turnbull has told Channel 9 the government has made its position clear.



"I've got no doubt that all of these matters will be discussed in the party room but I'm the Prime Minister. The government's position is that which we took to the election, which is that this issue should be determined by a vote of every Australian in a plebiscite."



A Senate inquiry into same sex-marriage draft laws is due to hand down its report on February 13.