A bill to allow gay marriage is set to be debated in the Senate next week.
Liberal Democrats senator David Leyonhjelm says while he doesn't expect his bill to go to a vote, he wants Prime Minister Tony Abbott to use the opportunity to allow a free vote for his ministers.
Under Liberal Party rules, backbenchers can vote freely but ministers must resign if they wish to cross the floor.
That is, unless the prime minister agrees to allow his frontbench a free vote.
"The time has come for the prime minister to reveal whether the word 'liberal' actually means anything to him, or if it is just a brand name like Datsun and Krispy Kreme," Senator Leyonhjelm told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.
The NSW senator said he supported marriage equality because people should have the freedom to choose their own life path.
The success of the bill through both houses of parliament was "far from certain", he said, but it was time for the debate to begin.
The bill will be debated on March 26 pending a resolution of the Senate.
Senator Leyonhjelm said he had discussed the bill with a number of government ministers and had two potential coalition "sponsors" - Queensland Liberal-National MP Wyatt Roy and West Australian Liberal senator Dean Smith.
The earliest it could be discussed in the Liberal Party room is next Tuesday.
Senator Leyonhjelm later clarified that he had not yet discussed sponsorship of the bill with any other senators, including Liberal Dean Smith.
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