MEMBER for Farrer Sussan Ley won't say if she agrees with her Coalition colleague Barnaby Joyce's view that her election rival Kevin Mack is a "liar".
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However, the Liberal MP said "many" in the southern Murray-Darling Basin have "appreciated the support" of Mr Joyce.
"He should either go out and say 'this is a lie, I didn't mean to say that, it never happened', or he must go forward to the people of Farrer saying 'I put forth things that suggested, alluded to, which are not the truth," Mr Joyce said.
"People who sell things that are not the truth are called liars."
Asked her opinion on Mr Joyce's assessment, Ms Ley said: "I'm not getting into the personalities as far as I'm concerned we need to fight on the issues.
"This is a debate and a contest about the issues and those issues are very important to me and I don't want any distractions about who said what to whom and the manner in which they said it."
Ms Ley was also unwilling to comment on the pugnacious approach taken by Mr Joyce in the radio interview.
"Every politician has their own style and I would never make personal comments about a colleague's style when it comes to interviews," she said.
"But what I will say is that I will bring anyone to the region and argue the case for more water for the farmers and communities that I represent with any single one of my colleagues and many of the people who live in the southern Murray-Darling basin have appreciated the support that Barnaby Joyce has given them in their fight for water."
Ms Ley did not disagree with Prime Minister Scott Morrison labelling Opposition leader Bill Shorten as a "liar".
"If Scott Morrison is saying that of Bill Shorten, what people who question that should do is examine the statements that Bill Shorten makes and they will draw exactly the same conclusion," Ms Ley said.
Farrer Labor candidate Kieran Drabsch hit back at the criticism of his party's leader.
"Scott Morrison is a spin artist as is Sussan, they're only interested in spinning a good story but when you look at it on the ground it's cuts and chaos," Mr Drabsch said.