Senior Liberal minister Mathias Cormann has described US presidential hopeful Donald Trump's lewd comments about women as "absolutely terrible".
"The comments were outrageously inappropriate," he told Sky News on Sunday, but noted Mr Trump had apologised for the remarks he made in 2005.
But Senator Cormann declined to say whether Mr Trump should step down from the presidency race, leaving it to "our friends in the United States" to resolve the issue.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten wasn't surprised senior, respected Republicans such as John McCain and Condoleezza Rice had been publicly repudiating Mr Trump.
"These comments cannot be excused, or dismissed," he said.
"They are vile, they are repugnant, they should be condemned."
During the federal election campaign, Mr Shorten said the presidential nominee was "barking mad" on some issues and would be very difficult to work with.
On Sunday, he said his concerns about Mr Trump were well known but the US-Australia alliance would remain strong no matter who was elected in November.
