NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro has stood by his calls for Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to resign, admitting his relationship with the PM "is broken".
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Speaking at a road safety campaign launch in Queanbeyan on Monday, Mr Barilaro said he would not resign and he was a "brawler" who wore his heart on his sleeve.
"I can't hide from it. My relationship with the Prime Minister is a broken relationship," Mr Barilaro said.
"I made those comments and I own those comments and it's something that I now will have to work through.
"If I shouldn't have said it, possibly that is something I will reflect on. We don't want to see the knifing of another prime minister."
Expressing concerns about how Mr Turnbull's unpopular government would impact the next NSW election, Mr Barilaro said on 2GB on Friday Mr Turnbull was out of touch.
"My view is Turnbull should give Australians a Christmas gift and go before Christmas," he said.
The Monaro MP admitted he made a last-minute withdrawal from celebrating the byelection victory of re-elected New England MP and Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce.
"I made comments on Friday that of course brought much anxiety to Barnaby. I contacted his campaign director and asked the question, 'Do you still want me there?'," Mr Barilaro said.
"I offer that up, I stay at home; had a lovely weekend with the kids."
Coalition MPs from the federal and the NSW state government criticised Mr Barilaro's comments, including Mr Joyce.
On Monday, Mr Barilaro said he still had the support of NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and had "exchanged texts" with Mr Joyce.
Mr Barilaro said he would not confirm or deny he had contacted Ms Berejiklian to sound out his calls for Mr Turnbull's resignation.
On Monday, Attorney-General George Brandis described Mr Barilaro's comments as "the dribblings of some obscure politician who nobody outside of NSW has ever heard of".
"The first time I'd even heard of Mr Barilaro was on Friday morning," Senator Brandis said in question time.
Mr Barilaro said his comments had been motivated by fears of seeing Labor in power in NSW or federally.
"This has come from mere frustration ... from myself, from people on the ground that I speak with," he said.
"I want to see a strong Liberal and National Coalition government not only hold government this term, but to continue to go to the next election as favourites to win the government because a Bill Shorten government would be the worst outcome, followed by a [NSW opposition leader Luke Foley] government."
