Conservatives have played down unsourced reports that rightwing Liberal MPs would move a spill against Malcolm Turnbull if he allowed government members to cross the floor in support of same-sex marriage.
The finance minister, Mathias Cormann, joined the prime minister to defend the Liberal party’s “great tradition” of allowing its members to cross the floor as the internal Coalition push for marriage equality intensifies.
Cormann said it was very hard to comment on anonymous reports but Turnbull enjoyed the overwhelming support of the Coalition party room.
“The prime minister enjoys the strong and united and unanimous support of his cabinet and I believe he enjoys the overwhelming support of our party room – I obviously don’t know who has made those comments,” the minister said.
A staunch defender of the plebiscite policy, the conservative MP Craig Kelly, said it was a “bridge too far” if members were making leadership threats.
“That’s all news to me,” Kelly told Guardian Australia. “Potentially, a threat to leadership is a bridge too far. Where we should be aiming is to be in good position for next election.”
As the Liberal senator Dean Smith prepares a private bill for a conscience vote on the issue, five other Liberals have made it clear this week they would vote for a marriage equality bill if one were presented to parliament.
The lower house Liberal MPs Tim Wilson, Jason Woods, Trent Zimmerman, Warren Entsch and Trevor Evans have all flagged their support for marriage equality as parliament prepares to return for the spring sitting.
Smith, who opposed the plebiscite policy, has said that with the plebiscite voted down it is time to resolve the issue.
But the comments by Liberal supporters of marriage equality have inflamed discontent within the conservative ranks that has been smouldering for weeks.
Reports surfaced of unnamed Liberals threatening the prime minister with a leadership spill if the free vote went ahead, predicting that the immigration minister, Peter Dutton, would take the Liberal leadership with the health minister, Greg Hunt, as his deputy.
Turnbull has consistently maintained his support for the plebiscite and he will argue its case in the party room.
“Our government’s policy position on this issue is very, very clear and it has not changed,” he said on Tuesday. “We went to the last election promising that the Australian people would have their direct say on this issue.”
On Monday Wilson said as a gay MP he was tormented daily by personal conflict. On Tuesday he responded to unnamed threats to his preselection over his stance.
Wilson said he had always respected his community, party and colleagues by asking for their views and he had met with his federal electorate conference on Monday night to seek feedback.
“Outsiders may not appreciate how open and honest I was during my preselection and election on the issue, including my views on the plebiscite and belief in a change in the law,” Wilson said.
“That’s why they jump to rash and ill-informed threats. They should consider their behaviour. Last night I had a meeting with my electorate conference. I raised the issue and invited feedback.
“I made it clear I would not support a Labor resolution but I would not rule out supporting one of my colleague’s resolutions as I was elected with a free vote as confirmed by Tony Abbott last week.”
Wilson said the feedback had been very positive, coupled with some dissent.
“Everyone has respected the unconscionable nature of asking me to vote against my own relationship, even if they disagree with changing the law,” he said.
The plebiscite policy was resolved at the end of a marathon Coalition party-room meeting on marriage equality in 2015.
“I’ve come to the view – I believe this is the party-room view – that this is the last term in which the Coalition party room can be bound, although we will definitely maintain the current position for the life of this term,” the then prime minister, Tony Abbott, said at the time.
Abbott acknowledged his actions last week.
Dutton has argued for a postal plebiscite vote to resolve the issue, a policy supported by the Queensland Liberal National party two weeks ago.
While several Queensland LNP MPs support a postal plebiscite, including MPs who sit in the Nationals party room such as George Christensen, Senator Barry O’Sullivan and Keith Pitt, it is not official National party policy.
Cormann said the Turnbull government remained committed to the policy of a plebiscite, even though it had been blocked in the parliament.
He said the government was considering how to implement the plebiscite policy, saying there would be appropriate processes through the cabinet and the party room.
Cormann backed Turnbull’s comments on the right of Liberal MPs to cross the floor.
“He was just making a statement of fact,” Cormann said. “Obviously we do have a great tradition in the Liberal party where backbenchers are able to cross the floor on specific issues, if that is what they choose to do. I have done so myself some years back.”
Asked if there would be any penalty against those who crossed the floor, Cormann said: “It is a great tradition in the Liberal party that individual backbenchers can cross the floor if that is what they choose to do, subject to certain courtesies being displayed to the party room.”
Kelly urged Liberal MPs to think about the implications of breaking a commitment to a plebiscite.
“Our guys need to think, I understand their passion, I understand they want to do it sooner rather than later but they need to consider carefully the implications of breaking a black-and-white election commitment,” he said.
“Every government who has made significant breaches of commitments has been punished at the ballot box. A lot of the conservative base would punish us for what they see as a fundamental breach.”
