The prime minister has side-stepped a question about whether a Liberal candidate, who advocated hitting people who used the term "invasion day" in the face with a chair, should be disendorsed.
The candidate for the safe Labor seat of Gellibrand, Ben Willis, has apologised for the comment he made on Facebook on January 22.
"If you describe Australia Day as 'invasion day' you need a high five. In the face. With a chair," he wrote.
Labor is calling on the Liberal Party to dump Mr Willis, arguing the comments are unacceptable.
Asked on Wednesday whether Mr Willis would be disendorsed, Malcolm Turnbull said only that he had made a "rather comprehensive apology".
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said the candidate's comments were unacceptable but he had apologised.
"Let's move on," he told reporters in Canberra.
Labor campaign spokeswoman Penny Wong says it wasn't good enough.
"This bloke casually just suggests that he wants to hit someone in the face with a chair because they use a word he doesn't like," she said.
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