Zali Steggall says parental concerns over trans athletes is just ‘transphobia’

Zali Steggall has addressed historic comments made by Warringah opponent Katherine Deves about trans athletes after inititally ducking the issue. Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce has also weighed in.

Warringah independent MP Zali Steggall has said that raising concerns that parents might have about their daughters being forced to compete against biological males on the playing field or share change rooms with them is just “transphobia”.

Ms Steggall, speaking on Sky News Australia on Monday, said that the issue of transgender athletes was simply “about creating division”.

“This is about creating division, I think this is a bit of a dead cat strategy, you put something very controversial on the table and that distracts from other issues.”

“I feel there’s a lot of lying going on about the actual status quo, we already have a law.”

“And saying that parents will be concerned is just repeating a transphobia line,” she said.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce is in Gladstone, Queensland making an announcement about regional roads. Picture: Bradley Hunter

Meanwhile Barnaby Joyce has slammed the media’s focus on historic comments made by Warringah Liberal candidate Katherine Deves as missing what “actually matters”.

“If I’m walking in Tamworth or going for a wander around Wagga or talking to people in Stawell in Victoria or Moama, they’re not going ‘oh, well, I’m really worried about Katherine,” the Deputy Prime Minister told reporters in Gladstone.

“That’s not in their mind.”

“You’ve got to understand in politics, people, there is a difference between what might be a really interesting story among the fourth estate and what actually matters,” he said.

Mr Joyce’s comments come amidst an ongoing push by activists to get Ms Deves, who has been a long time campaigner for the rights of women in sports, dropped from the ticket in her contest to unseat Zali Steggall.

Previously, Ms Steggall refused to say whether she would have been happy to compete against transgender athletes when she won a bronze medal for Australia, herself saying that “there are much bigger issues in sport.”

Then-Australian skier Zali Steggall holding her Winter Olympic Games bronze medal in 1998.

Asked by this newspaper whether she thought transgender athletes should be allowed in all sporting competitions, and whether she would have been happy to ski against them when she competed in Japan in 1998, Ms Steggall said, “sporting bodies from national federations to clubs support (existing legislation and rules) as providing the right flexibility and framework to respond sensitively and carefully, prioritising the wellbeing of all involved and fairness for all athletes. “We are talking of an incredibly small number of athletes.”

“These are much bigger issues in sport” including equal pay, media coverage, and fighting intimidation and harassment she said, refusing to be drawn on the question of her own experience in sport.

Ms Steggall’s comments came as Prime Minister Scott Morrison threw his support behind Warringah Liberal candidate and women’s sport advocate Katherine Deves in a simmering internal party fight over previous comments she had made in defence of female-only spaces.

“This is a woman standing up for women and girls in sport,” Mr Morrison said over the weekend.

Katherine Deves, Liberal candidate in the federal electorate of Warringah, and co-founder of Save Women's Sport. Picture: Supplied

Acknowledging the controversy around her candidacy, the prime minister said, “(Ms Deves) is a strong woman standing up for things that she believes in … which I know is a very sensitive issue in so many communities, but it has to be done respectfully, out of respect for the human dignity of every individual and I’m sure there are lessons that she has learned.”

A number of members of the Liberal Party’s socially progressive moderate wing have mounted a campaign to see Ms Deves dropped from the ticket.

NSW Treasurer and Energy Minister Matt Kean has weighed into the debate. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

NSW Treasurer Matt Kean accused Ms Deves of having “horrendous views” and said that the Liberal Party should “disendorse” her.

Mr Kean also said of Ms Deves’ advocacy that “there is no place in a mainstream political party for bigotry.”

On Sunday Foreign Minister and Minister for Women Marise Payne refused to say whether or not Ms Deves should be kept on the ticket in Warringah.

“I don’t agree with the remarks she made, I’ve made that explicitly clear (but) ultimately that is a matter for the Liberal Party here in New South Wales,” she said.

However Victorian Senator Jane Hume and outgoing South Australian MP Nicolle Flint have backed Ms Deves’ candidacy.

Member for Boothby in SA, Nicolle Flint. John Feder/The Australian.

Over the weekend Ms Hume called her candidacy “admirable,” while Ms Flint slammed Mr Kean’s comments.

“Just to be clear, you’re saying women & girls (in sport, for example) have less rights than everyone else? You’re saying women & girls don’t matter? You’re saying our voices don’t matter?,” she tweeted.

Around the world the issue of biological men competing in women’s sport has become an increasing concern of advocates who worry that girls and women will lose out to competitors who are not born female but are physically stronger.

Last year a review by UK sporting authorities found that “retained differences in strength, stamina, and physique between the average woman compared with the average transgender woman” found that inclusion could not be properly balanced against fairness and safety.

Earlier this month British prime minister Boris Johnson said that biological males “should not compete” in female sporting events.

Originally published as Zali Steggall says parental concerns over trans athletes is just ‘transphobia’