Johnston apologises for canoe comments Tony Abbott has distanced himself from his defence minister over his controversial submarine comments but Labor wants the prime minister to go further and sack him. David Johnston has expressed regret for his "rhetorical flourish" in question time on Tuesday, in which he said he wouldn't trust government-owned shipbuilders ASC to build a canoe. "In these comments I never intended to cause offence and I regret that offence may have been taken," he told the Senate on Wednesday. I offcourse was directing my remarks at a legacy of issues and not the workers in ASC whom I consider to be world class. Mr Abbott earlier distanced himself from Senator Johnston's comments, issuing a statement in support of the Adelaide-based ASC. Mr Abbott said despite a $350 million budget blowout on the air warfare destroyer program the government was working closely with ASC to improve shipyard performance and productivity. "It is early days but the government is confident that ASC and its partners will successfully turn the corner on this important build," he said in a statement. But Labor says Senator Johnston must be sacked, accusing him of trashing ASC's reputation. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten moved a censure motion on Wednesday in the lower house. "It's a shocking insult to thousands of Australian men and women working at the Australian submarine corporation," Mr Shorten told parliament. Labor Senate leader Penny Wong was unimpressed with Senator Johnston's statement of regret. "He is a disgrace," she told the Senate. However, coalition MPs rallied around their beleaguered colleague, describing him as a "terrific minister." "Sure those comments were a bit of a rhetorical flourish," Liberal MP Josh Frydenberg told reporters in Canberra. You speak to anybody in the industry who works with defence and they say he is completely on top of his brief, he's passionate about it and he's making some important changes for Australia. South Australian independent senator Nick Xenophon said the minister's comments were "bizarre, ridiculous, unfounded and stupid." Brandishing a paddle, Senator Xenophon said the government's submarines policy was an "absolute shambles." "I brought this paddle in for the defence minister because right now the government is up s**t creek without a paddle when it comes to submarines," he told reporters in Canberra.