Former prime minister Tony Abbott has blasted senior cabinet minister Christopher Pyne for suggesting same-sex marriage could happen “sooner than everyone thinks”.

Mr Pyne was forced to deny the government had plans to dump the marriage plebiscite on Monday after leaked audio emerged of him rallying other Liberal moderates at a meeting on Friday night.

The defence industry minister also reportedly told the meeting that the party’s moderate faction was now dominant and that he had always backed Malcolm Turnbull for the leadership.

Mr Abbott, from the Liberals’ conservative ranks, accused Mr Pyne of disloyalty in a radio interview on Monday.

“If you are a member of the Cabinet, you have got to be loyal. Christopher Pyne was not just a member of my Cabinet, he was actually in the leadership team,” he told 2GB’s Ray Hadley.

“It’s important that you show loyalty. If he’s to be believed on Friday night, that loyalty was never there, which is incredibly disappointing.

“You’ve got to be fair dinkum with the Australian people and it looks like that’s not been true of Christopher.”

The former prime minister said dumping the plebiscite was not an option for the government.

“We took a policy to the election, it was a very clear policy, that there would be no change without a plebiscite,” he said.

“To dump the plebiscite, to do anything without a plebiscite, would be a breach of faith with the people.”

Asked if Mr Pyne had been “plotting” to replace him during his prime ministership, Mr Abbott replied: “This appears to be the confession that he made to his close colleagues in the left faction.”

But Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull ruled out any change to the policy at a press conference on Monday.

He said it was up to Labor to support the government’s call for a plebiscite.

“Our policy is very clear. It has not changed. We have no plans to change it,” he said.

“The ball is in Bill Shorten’s court.”

In the leaked recording, obtained by News Corp columnist Andrew Bolt, Mr Pyne says: “Friends, we are in the winner’s circle but we have to deliver a couple of things and one of those we’ve got to deliver before too long is marriage equality in this country.”

“And your friends in Canberra are working on that outcome.

“It might even be sooner than everyone thinks.”

Mr Pyne was forced to defend his comments on Monday, saying there were no plans for a new policy.

“I support marriage equality and if Labor had supported the plebiscite, marriage equality would be a reality now,” he said.

“The government has no plans to alter the policy.”

Opposition leader Bill Shorten told reporters on Monday marriage equality should “be a reality”.

“We should just have a vote in parliament,” he said. “We do meet 20 weeks of the year.”

“Plenty of other countries have gone down this path and we could do it very easily.”

The Turnbull government went to last year’s election calling for a plebiscite on same-sex marriage, a policy adopted by Mr Abbott.

Amid calls for a free vote among MPs, the position was viewed as a compromise to the government’s conservatives flank.

The Senate in November rejected legislation that would have allowed the national vote to take place. Gay marriage has been off the government’s agenda since.

Labor has vowed to oppose the plebiscite, saying it is unnecessary, too expensive and would lead to a damaging public debate about the legitimacy of same-sex relationships.

-with AAP