Tony Abbott admits he doesn't like the burqa, but that doesn't mean he thinks governments should decide what people can and can't wear.
Except it seems when accessing a secure building like Parliament House.
The prime minister, in responding to a demand from Labor leader Bill Shorten that he provide leadership in the debate over the controversial religious garment, said he found the burqa "a fairly confronting form of attire".
"Frankly, I wish it was not worn, but we are a free country," he told reporters on Wednesday.
But different rules may apply for people entering secure buildings where it was important to establish a person's identity.
"It has to be the same rules for everyone and if the rules require you to show your face, well, you show your face," Mr Abbott said.
The prime minister cautioned against "making a mountain out of a mole hill" because to the best of his knowledge no-one wearing a burqa had ever sought entry to Parliament House.
Attorney-General George Brandis agreed the headwear shouldn't be outlawed, but said everyone must reveal their identity in certain circumstances.
"That's really a matter for the police to determine, not for me, not for politicians," he said.
The comments come amid reports Mr Abbott's chief of staff, Peta Credlin, supports a Parliament House ban of the Muslim garb on security grounds.
Labor MPs accused the government of whipping up community division over the issue.
Mr Shorten said Mr Abbott needed to slap down the "fringe dwellers" in his party who were calling for a ban.
"It is not good enough to talk tolerance and yet have your backbenchers out there pushing socially divisive arguments," he told reporters.
Ms Credlin reportedly told government MP George Christensen she was sympathetic to the idea of a burqa ban at Parliament House.
But Mr Christensen insisted the report was nonsense.
"He says it's crap, and the paper knew it was crap before they printed it," the spokesperson told AAP.
Labor frontbencher Jason Clare said he wouldn't like to be Mr Christensen.
It was one thing to leak against your colleagues, but it was another thing to leak against one of the most powerful people in the government.
"I suspect he's on a spit roast in Peta Credlin's office right now," he said.
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