Marise Payne says future of Katherine Deves as party candidate is a 'matter for NSW Liberal Party'

Minister for Women Marise Payne has refused to back the call from Liberal MP and NSW Treasurer Matt Kean for Katherine Deves to be disendorsed as a Liberal Party candidate over her anti-transgender remarks.

Katherine Deves has apologised for anti-transgender remarks. Credit: Katherine Deves/Facebook

Minister for Women Marise Payne said she believes the Liberal Party should decide on the issue of whether Katherine Deves should be disendorsed as the candidate for the Sydney seat of Warringah.

Liberal MP and NSW Treasurer Matt Kean, on Saturday, publicly called for Ms Deves to be disendorsed after a week of revelations of negative comments about transgender people.

"It’s a matter for the organisation in NSW," she told the ABC Insiders program on Sunday. "I need to get on with my job. That’s what I’m doing. And I don’t agree with the remarks that she made. I’ve made that explicitly clear."

The federal government was attempting to keep the focus on health policy on Sunday, but campaigning was overshadowed by questions over Ms Deves past anti-transgender comments, for which she has apologised multiple times over the last week.

In social media posts from November last year that have since been deleted, Ms Deves called transgender people "surgically mutilated and sterilised".

She also compared her lobbying to stop transgender athletes from competing in women's sport to standing up against the Holocaust during a YouTube panel last year.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he would not be disendorsing Ms Deves, saying she has made a mistake and apologised for it.

"I think it's really important that she has withdrawn those comments, and she has acknowledged they've been insensitive," he told reporters in Melbourne.

"I think that is the right way to respect the trans community. I don't share those sentiments either."

When asked about her own views, Ms Payne said she does not share those of Ms Deves, but declined several times to answer whether she believes Ms Deves should be dropped as the Liberal candidate.

"Ultimately, that is a matter for the Liberal Party here in New South Wales," Ms Payne said.

"But Ms Deves has apologised for those remarks. She has withdrawn those remarks. And that’s the most important thing as she continues as the candidate there in Warringah. She has made that apology clear."

She said the issue of the participation of women and transgender people in sport should be discussed.

"We need to look at fairness, safety and inclusion - in terms of women in sport. It is a discussion we should be having. It is a discussion that a number of the codes have already engaged in across Australia, and internationally."