Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull credits late father for his 'feminism'

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has paid tribute to his late father, whom he says ingrained in him the importance of respecting women.

Mr Turnbull today declared himself a feminist, describing how his father Bruce always assured him his mother loved him more than anything, despite her having left them.

He said his father taught him household duties like cooking and ironing as they struggled in a rented flat without furniture.

"I would not be the man I am today without him," the prime minister told reporters in Melbourne today.

"When my mother left us, we had nowhere to live.

"I think the only bit of furniture we had was my bed, so he had every reason to be a bit unhappy, to say the least.

"And yet he never ever said a bad word about her."

Mr Turnbull said after his father died in 1982 and his mother in 1991, he read letters between the pair which revealed his father’s heartbreak.

“What does it say about his love that he could sit down and write letters like that, pouring out his heart and then turn to his little boy and say, ‘your mother is the greatest woman in the world and she loves you more than anything’,” Mr Turnbull said.

“What a man. What a great man.

"Fathers rock. Fathers rock and so do the mothers.”

In a campaign ad released yesterday, Mr Turnbull describes his relationship with his father as "big brother/little brother".