Scott Morrison has defended the Liberal party’s handling of concerns from female colleagues about being bullied and intimidated during last month’s leadership spill, despite more Liberal women coming forward with accusations.

The minister for defence, Christopher Pyne, has also repeated the line that no “specific complaint” of bullying has been made, but warned if such a complaint was made “it will be dealt with appropriately.”

“I haven’t been bullied or intimidated in 25 years,” he said on Monday.

“If any of my colleagues feel they have been and they make a complaint to the chief whip or the prime minister’s office it will be dealt with appropriately.”

Female Liberal MPs Kelly O’Dwyer and Julia Banks, and Liberal senators Lucy Gichuhi and Linda Reynolds, have spoken publicly about the experiences some MPs say they endured during the backroom number-crunching amidst the leadership crisis.

O’Dwyer on Monday night told the ABC she’d had a number of conversations with male and female MPs and it was clear that people were subject to “threats, intimidation and bullying”.

Gichuhi has signalled she is prepared to name names when parliament returns, so she can be protected by parliamentary privilege.

At the height of the chaos, Reynolds told the Senate chamber she was “distressed and disturbed” by the some of the backroom behaviour.

Turnbull supporter Craig Laundy said last week he heard complaints had been made to the prime minister’s office and the party whip’s office about bullying. Laundy said he was confident the party whip, Nola Marino, would investigate. “I’m sure Nola Marino has received them and I know she will deal with them through any process she puts in place.”

Morrison was asked on Tuesday, when visiting Queensland, if he felt the concerns were being adequately handled.

He reaffirmed that they were being handled internally, and then pivoted away to talk about the concerns of voters.

“We will continue to deal with these issues inside our team,” Morrison said.

“Minister O’Dwyer, as you know, has been taking a proactive role in this area, as has the party whip, Nola Marino, and I look to them for their advice in managing these issues.

“But you know what? Australians want us to focus on them. That’s what they want us to focus on. And I know my colleagues know that they need to focus on the Australian people who put them here.

“The events of a couple of weeks ago, I’ve described as a Muppet show, frankly. And the curtain comes down on that and Australians expect us to get on with our jobs. That’s what I’m doing. That’s what my team is doing.”

He then pointed to the Australian flag pin on the lapel of his suit.

“Australians need to know this: I wear this on my lapel every day as a sign to every Australian that I am putting you first,” Morrison said.

“We are focused on you. Your concerns. How you feel. What your aspirations are. That’s what I’m thinking about. And my team, I expect, to focus 100% on you.”

On Monday, during an interview with 3AW in Melbourne, the prime minister did not answer a direct question about whether any perpetrators would be named in the event the accusations were found to have merit.

“I’m working with that internally in my party with my party organisation” Morrison said.

“We will absolutely deal with this issue as a party, as colleagues, and I have no truck with bullying whether it’s in a classroom, whether it’s in a workplace, or with a broadcaster”.