Coalition and Labor senators went into furious negotiations overnight in an effort to sidetrack the Greens' bill after a Labor backlash against the decision for the government to support the bill.

The Greens bill to prohibit the federal government overruling radical social laws in the territories created a storm within the Labor Party as MPs realised it would allow same-sex marriages in the ACT and Northern Territory.

Greens leader Bob Brown also indicated he would seek to repeal the federal law banning euthanasia in the territories. Senator Brown confirmed this afternoon that the bill would be examined by a Senate committee at the request of the Coalition. He said the only Labor figure he had spoken to about the proposed legislation was ACT senator Kate Lundy.

"If you are asking did I specifically go to the Labor Party as ask, 'Do you agree to this?', no I didn't,'' he told reporters. He maintained the legislation was not in itself about gay marriage, and if the ACT Greens wanted to pursue gay marriage legislation under the bill, it was a matter for them. "This is simply to say yes, state parliaments can, with innovative Greens legislation, can deal with that, and the territories should be no less able to do that,'' he said.

Both John Howard and Kevin Rudd had previously used federal power to limit same-sex marriage in the territories and Julia Gillard has declared her opposition to same-sex marriage. Labor ministers and backbenchers were furious the decision to support the Greens bill was not discussed in cabinet or the ALP caucus and scrambled to head off the bill.