Organiser of women's march calls PM a liar on plans to speak

The Prime Minister says he's "focused on the issue" of gender-based violence, after the organiser of a rally calling for action accused him of lying about plans to speak.

Speaking to breakfast media on Monday, Mr Albanese did not weigh in on claims he had lied to crowds gathered outside Parliament House, but instead said, "It was an emotional day for people and I get that".

"[It] is an emotional issue, because women were saying yesterday, enough is enough," Mr Albanese told the Today Show.

Speaking at the event on Sunday, Mr Albanese said the organiser had declined his offer to speak at the march.

But the founder of What Were You Wearing, Sarah Williams, who organised the rally, said the Prime Minister had made it clear he would not speak at the march, but walk in solidarity.

She said she spoke with the Prime Minister's office on Saturday, and staff there had declined an offer to speak, saying they hadn't had enough notice.

"I had a phone call with his office on Saturday, and they said he didn't want to speak, he just wanted to walk in solidarity with the women," Ms Williams said.

"All of a sudden [at the rally] the ministers and their security got up and started marching their way to the front, which was really scary."

"So I asked the audience, do we want him to speak? And behind me, he said, 'I'm the Prime Minister, I run the country.'

"And that is probably one of the ... few things that upset me the most."

When asked on Today about Ms Williams's claims, Mr Albanese said he was focused on responding to gender-based violence.

"I was happy not to speak, I was happy to speak; It was about raising awareness of the issue, but a call to action by all governments," he said.

"Quite clearly, we need to do more, it's not enough to just have empathy."

According to Ms Williams, she also spoke with Katy Gallagher's office on Saturday afternoon, and after a discussion, she understood neither Senator Gallagher nor the Prime Minister would be speaking.

"They made the decision that Katy Gallagher would speak, if we wanted her to, on behalf of the government about the national cabinet and the national plans to end violence against women."

"I said I needed to know if she was committing to anything or not."

Seventeen rallies were held across Australia on the weekend including an estimated 15,000 people demonstrating in Melbourne, about 10,000 in Sydney and thousands more in Canberra and Brisbane.

The rally comes as 32 women have been murdered in Australia so far this year. This includes the women killed in the recent Bondi Junction stabbing attack.

Rally organisers are calling for the government to declare violence against women a national emergency.