Communications Minister Mitch Fifield is demanding the ABC apologise and investigate a skit in which an Australian Conservatives candidate got labelled a "c---".

Tonightly with Tom Ballard ran a skit last week about renaming the Melbourne electorate of Batman after concerns about the history linked to founder John Batman and his involvement in the murder of Aboriginal people.

The show's regular comedian Greg Larsen played an Australian Electoral Commission representative and suggested that "in the interest of compromise and in the interest of democracy" that the name be changed to "Batman-was-a-c---" because "we cannot shy away from the terrible things he did".

To a spattering of audience laughter and applause, a tickled Ballard responded: "That sounds like an awful idea, that's terrible."