NSW MP Duncan Gay says he didn't mean to offend a female colleague when he told her that "building a road is not like buying a handbag".
"Certainly no offence was meant by my words and if any was taken, I apologise," Mr Gay said in a statement on Wednesday.
The roads minister made the remark to Miranda MP Eleni Petinos, 29, while she was lobbying for a motorway in Sydney's south.
The issue came to light when Ms Petinos challenged her fellow coalition MP over the remarks during a party room meeting on Tuesday.
Mr Gay said he had spoken to Ms Petinos since the incident and conveyed his thoughts.
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"I have reflected on this and understand my choice of words should have been better," he told AAP.
Earlier on Wednesday Premier Mike Baird confirmed he had also spoken to his senior minister.
"It is clear that it was a poor choice of words," Mr Baird told reporters in Sydney.
"There is no intent in what the minister said and from my point of view, he is an outstanding minister," Mr Baird said.
Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian also defended the NSW Liberal Party's treatment of women.
"My personal experience as a member of a party has been, always receiving the utmost respect from all of my colleagues," she said, during a joint conference spruiking the government's education promises following Tuesday's budget.
"From time to time we might have differences about what we believe on an issue and they're always resolved amicably," she said.
