And, unfortunately for the PM, it is a debate all of his own making.

Australia seems to be moving ever closer to the day when marriage equality is finally achieved in this country, with the biggest fight now over just how we will get there in the end.

Mr Turnbull has long been a vocal supporter of same-sex marriage and his rise to the Liberal Party leadership should have been a key moment in the fight for marriage equality.

Instead, the backroom deals done to secure Mr Turnbull the numbers to roll Mr Abbott last September mean the rancour and division over this issue are only set to deepen in the Coalition party room.

Mr Turnbull's preferred road to marriage equality would be through a vote on the floor of parliament, a vote that would likely succeed.

Instead, Mr Turnbull has been forced to back a plebiscite on the issue to appease right-wing Liberal powerbrokers whose support he needed to defeat Mr Abbott.

The PM knows the plebiscite could bring out the worst elements in Australian society and make life a living hell for same-sex couples and their families for the next few months.

He also knows the plebiscite has no legal standing and that Coalition MPs already opposed to same-sex marriage would not be bound by its results. And we all know that the money to be spent on a plebiscite could be much better utilised in this country.

Mr Turnbull suffered a real electoral scare at the July 2 election and one of the reasons is that many voters are no longer sure what he stands for.

Here then is his chance to draw a line in the sand and show his party that he intends to be a PM that leads them from the front.

Mr Turnbull has the opportunity to stare down his opponents within the Coalition and take the question of same-sex marriage directly to the floor of Parliament.

It would be a brave move and one that would certainly put his leadership at risk, but if he survived he would emerge as the first prime minister since John Howard with real control over his party room.

It would be a high-risk, high-return strategy – but Malcolm Turnbull has never been a conservative Conservative.