Prime Minister Scott Morrison defends Warringah candidate Katherine Deves after anti-trans comments

At a press conference on Saturday at Melbourne Airport, Mr Morrison quashed speculation that candidate Katherine Deves would be dropped in the wake of revelations she had described trans people and athletes as "surgically mutilated" along with other insensitive posts published as recently as January this year.

NSW Treasurer Matt Kean on Friday evening called for Ms Deves to be disendorsed, saying her views are bigoted and offensive.

But Labor leader Anthony Albanese in Cairns stopped just short of backing calls for the Warringah candidate to be dumped from the Liberal ballot.

"It's very clear that the selection of this candidate isn't just dividing the country, it's dividing the Liberals," he said.

"If I was Scott Morrison, I wouldn't have selected her in the first place."

Ms Deves, who is against trans women being allowed to partake in sports limited to women, was selected by the Prime Minister's committee after the federal branch took over the NSW division in March.

Mr Morrison said the comments were insensitive but claimed there was no precedent for her to be dropped.

"I haven't called for others who have said insensitive things [to be dropped], even in the parliament," Mr Morrison said.

"My position is that there are things that Katherine has said in the past, just like the Labor member for Hunter has said some pretty unfortunate and disrespectful things in the past."

Dan Repacholi, Labor's choice to replace Joel Fitzgibbon in the seat of Hunter, has also been criticised for vulgar remarks he made on social media years ago.

In now-deleted posts, The Australian reported the former Olympic sport shooter once described India as a "shit hole" and said his favourite quote was "size dosent [sic] matter when you have 130 kg pushing it".

Mr Albanese defended against claims he had a double standard for his own party's candidates, adding the comments by Mr Repacholi were made "a very, very long time ago".

The man gunning for the country's top job was also asked whether he supported trans Australians but answered indirectly that he "respected every human being for who they are".

As he walked away from the press conference, Mr Albanese affirmed the Labor Party would disendorse candidates if "inappropriate comments" were made.

Weeks earlier, the Labor leader was quoted in an interview with News Corp newspapers as being "not woke", adding that men could not have babies.

The comments were criticised by trans advocates, who said it pandered to conservatives who made culture war attacks on the community.

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The Prime Minister in Melbourne on Saturday morning evaded questions on his ability to commit to implementing a federal integrity commission if the Coalition returns to government.

It came as Federal Labor promised to deliver a federal ICAC by the end of 2022 if it wins the election.

Despite having a majority in the lower house, he said the Coalition's integrity model hadn't passed because the opposition didn't back it.

"We developed a policy, we developed detailed legislation, the Labor Party didn't agree with it, and at this election you have a very clear and detailed policy when it comes to how we want to progress with that issue," Mr Morrison said.

"I think what we need is a proper integrity commission that is driven by the processes of the rule of law that doesn't seek to judge people before they're able to have the matters properly considered.

"That's what I'm putting to the election and that's what I would hope to put to the parliament."

Integrity critics have slammed the Coalition's proposed model for not having teeth.

The government's plans don't allow for retrospective inquiries, public hearings and investigations into non-criminal misconduct.

Touring a lolly shop in the marginal seat of Chisholm, Mr Morrison asked if he was more sweet or sour.

He replied "I'm sweet as" and winked.

He was joined by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and his family plus Gladys Liu.

Mr Morrison is back visiting Sydney this weekend after a blitz through parts of Victoria and northern Tasmania.

In the afternoon, the Liberal leader debuted his first public appearance at Sydney's Royal Easter show.

Mr Morrison's presence caused a mixed reaction from the crowd, with punters pointing out the PM saying "it's Scomo", while others condemned him over the recent handling of floods in Lismore.

"How is Lismore going?" a showgoer yelled out from the crowd.

Meanwhile the Labor leader touched down in Far North Queensland to continue his focus on health campaigning.

Mr Albanese visited a skincare facility in Cairns while announcing a $14.8 million commitment to the Melanoma Institute Australia over the next four years to support nurses undertaking skin cancer checks.

The popular reef destination was filled with tourists for the Easter long weekend as the press pack swarmed the Wharf Street location Mr Albanese was due to visit, situated on a scenic walking strip near the tropical city's centre.

Jaimie and Wendy Holland were visiting from the northern suburbs of Adelaide where they bumped into the spectacle.

The couple admitted they would usually vote Labor but also believed Mr Albanese was the more "principled" and "visionary" leader of the two major party candidates.

"I know that some media are looking for the gotcha moments, but I don't think it's an issue," Mr Holland said.

"And he's pretty authentic [but] probably the less experienced campaigner."