Coalition sources told this masthead the Prime Minister had raised the prospect of putting theintegrity commission to Parliament in a draft bill and that this could help persuade some MPs to also support the government on religious discrimination.

Cabinet ministers rejected this approach,which was backed by Finance Minister Simon Birmingham,out of concern that Parliament would amend the Commonwealth integrity commission bill in ways the government could not accept.

The idea of linking the bills appeared to be aimed at winning support from Ms Archer,who wants immediate action on a federal anti-corruption commission.

With Parliament limited to a single week of sittings before the federal budget due on March 29 and with the election campaign expected to start soon afterwards,Liberals and Nationals said the changes to sex discrimination and religious discrimination laws would be left in limbo.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese claimed victory in a frantic week in Parliament by forcing the issue to an impasse after he promised voters an amended law that he said would protect religious freedom,ban the vilification of people because of their faith and prevent schools expelling LGBTQI students including transgender children.

Mr Morrison insisted the draft Religious Discrimination Act should pass in its original form to ensure people of faith had the freedom to express their views,setting up an election contest with rival claims from the major parties to ethnic communities and others shaped by religious belief.

Mr Morrison also rejected the changes made by Labor,the Greens,independent MPs and the five Liberal rebels to the Sex Discrimination Act,a separate part of the package that sought to limit the ability of schools to expel gay and lesbian students.

The rare cross-party alliance in the lower house replaced the government plan for the Sex Discrimination Act with a broader change that also protected transgender students,although the amendment stopped short of banning schools from sacking teachers because of their sexual identity.

With the government sending the Sex Discrimination Act to an inquiry and shelving plans to bring the Religious Discrimination Act to a vote,Liberals expressed frustration at the way the furore had overshadowed their agenda without getting an outcome.

“This has been shambolic and everyone feels like they’ve been done over,” one Liberal said.

Another Liberal said the setback for Mr Morrison came after he made an “extraordinary”appeal for unity at the Coalition party room meeting on Tuesday when he asked for unity on the religious discrimination bill and warned they would lose government if they did not stick together.

The Australian first reported on Thursday that Mr Morrison was “rolled” in cabinet on Monday night when he proposed a way to gain numbers in Parliament for the religious package by offering to bring on a separate bill to establish a Commonwealth integrity commission.

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