The Sauce: Liberal Party volunteers desert Katherine Deves in Warringah

They’re being dubbed the ‘Warringah refugees’, Liberal Party volunteers who have fled to other seats because they don’t want to help elect biological sex campaigner Katherine Deves.

DISGRUNTLED Liberal Party volunteers unhappy with selection of biological sex campaigner Katherine Deves for Warringah have abandoned the controversial candidate to help out in
other seats.

The “Warringah refugees” have been found helping out in Wentworth where Dave Sharma is fighting for survival against his “teal” independent rival, Allegra Spender.

A Warringah source says other refugees have headed over to North Sydney where left-wing powerbroker Trent Zimmerman is also battling to stay afloat.

“Others are helping in Mackellar, some in Bennelong,” the source said.

Others, including some from the Manly conference, were not helping at all as a result of how the candidate selection process was handled, the source said.

However, Deves has not been left in the lurch with her new-found fame attracting a “cult” following, said one Liberal source.

Katherine Deves hands out campaign leaflets at Manly Beach on Saturday. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Jeremy Piper

“Everyone now knows who she is and many want to help her,” the source said.

“She has had offers of support from across Australia.”

As revealed on Friday, her new volunteers include former Playboy cover girl, actor and best-selling author Deborah Gray.

Other volunteers included those from the Mitchell electorate, held by centre-right powerbroker Alex Hawke who was instrumental in the local lawyer’s controversial selection.

Across other seats, scores of Berowra conference Liberals are making the trek to Parramatta each day to help Maria Kovacic take on Labor millionaire economist Andrew Charlton. Kovacic’s team was recently beefed up with the instalment of centre-right operative Justin De Domenico as campaign manager.

Liberal party volunteers have abandoned Deves to help out in other seats. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Jeremy Piper

De Domenico’s wife Louise is an adviser in the office of Prime Minister
Scott Morrison.

Not all seats are flush with volunteers though, with Liberal insiders this week noting how in many areas they were being outnumbered on the ground by their political rivals.

This was especially the case in Hughes, where one senior Liberal moaned this week about the party’s “ground game” in the hotly contested seat, labelling it “horrific”.

“(Independent) Georgia Steele is playing a really
good ground game,” the Liberal said.

“We look old and tired.”

IDENTITY THEFT?

AFTER the media storm that followed the revelation of the now-deleted explosive social media posts of Warringah Liberal candidate Katherine Deves, the hunt was on for other candidates who may have posted similarly controversial material in
the past.

Political operatives thought they had struck gold when mining the posts of Cunningham Liberal candidate Marcus Uren.

Among the unearthed posts included how “Valdamir (sic) Putin” was “a hero of our times”, Obama was the “cruellest person in history” while Australia was a “corrupt, bogan, constitutional monarchy”.

Liberal candidate Marcus Uren.

Other posts on the ASKfm website, which includes a profile pic of Uren, included support for the death penalty and a statement about how Uren planned to become the chief executive of a billion-dollar company “or a politician”.

When The Sauce called the party office, we were told Uren had denied he was behind the material and also denied it was his account.

And given the date of the posts was 2014, if it was him, Uren, who is the second youngest Liberal candidate in this election, would have been about 14 at the time.

That is, at school.

While Uren has denied being the poster, it is a timely reminder to anyone with future political ambitions – be careful what you post.

FIRST LADY

IT is one of the battleground seats of the federal election and also where Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his family spend many of their holidays.

And so it was of little surprise to see Jenny Morrison turn up to the Gilmore campaign launch of former Berejiklian government Minister Andrew Constance at the Shoalhaven Turf Club last week.

Jenny Morrison, with husband Scott Morrison, has been well received in Gilmore. Picture: Jason Edwards

The “first lady” was joined by former Gilmore MPs Joanna Gash, Ann Sudmalis and John Sharp, who no doubt had words of wisdom to offer “Bega” in reclaiming the seat, which is held by Labor MP Fiona Phillips on a 2.6 per cent margin.

It was one of two visits Mrs Morrison made to the seat last week, with a local Liberal source declaring her visits to Meals On Wheels groups and disability organisations as “very well received”.

Gilmore is set to become one of the few – if only – seats the Liberals may reclaim in NSW, a result that would put Constance on a path to the frontbench.

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