Senator sorry for 'naughty girl' remarks

"Senator McKenzie, do you always have to have the last word ... like a naughty little girl," Senator Sterle said.

"Can you just be quiet while somebody else finishes?"

Senator Sterle, who chairs the regional and rural affairs committee, withdrew the comment following pressure from the Greens and Nationals after initially refusing.

"I want to apologise for my outburst under pressure, there is no excuse for the language that I used," he told the committee.

"I hope you will accept my apology. That was unlike me, but I'm not dodging it, it was out of order."

The prime minister and attorney-general used the passing of workplace laws aimed at reducing sexual harassment on Monday to call for more respect towards women.