A federal government MP's push to remove knights and dames from Australian honours looks set to fail in the Liberal party room.
Andrew Laming has proposed a private member's bill following the controversy over Prime Minister Tony Abbott's decision to knight Prince Philip.
Mr Abbott on Monday announced he would no longer be involved in the awards, which would be solely in the hands of the Order of Australia council.
However, Dr Laming said Mr Abbott's decision did not go far enough.
"It should never have been a captain's pick," the Liberal MP said on Tuesday.
"I'm a team mate of the captain and I'm taking an appeal to the highest court in the land and that's the parliament."
The coalition joint party room will meet next Tuesday when the bill could be discussed.
However, senior Liberal figures have talked down the chances of the bill being endorsed.
"I doubt whether it will get through the party room," Parliamentary secretary to the prime minister Alan Tudge told Sky News.
Liberal MP Angus Taylor said it was a huge distraction and he would not be supporting it.
Treasurer Joe Hockey dismissed it as a side issue.
Queensland MP Warren Entsch encouraged Dr Laming to go ahead with the bill, saying other coalition MPs were likely to swing behind it.
Mr Abbott said he welcomed vigorous debate in his party about all issues.
"We have never been a Stalinist party," he told reporters in Sydney.
Even if the coalition party room endorses the bill, it can't be introduced in the lower house until February 23 at the earliest because the private member's business program has already been determined for the first day of sittings on February 9.
An Essential poll published on Tuesday showed 43 per cent of coalition voters disapproved of knights and dames, compared with 32 per cent in favour and 26 per cent with no view either way.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said Dr Laming was using the bill as a proxy war for the Liberal leadership.
"The Liberals who vote for this measure ... are actually having a proxy vote on whether or not Tony Abbott can continue to be the prime minister of Australia," he said.
Labor is committed to abolishing knights and dames if it wins government.
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