Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott urges support for Katherine Deves in video plea

Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott has made an impassioned video plea to Liberal members in his former seat of Warringah.

Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott has urged Liberals to “get behind” Liberal candidate Katherine Deves amid a storm of controversy over her claims trans teenagers are being “surgically mutilated.”

Mr Abbott, who lost the seat of Warringah in 2019 to Independent Zali Steggall, has predicted she’s a real chance of winning the seat back.

Urging volunteers not to abandon ship to nearby electorates where Liberal MPs are fighting for their political lives, Mr Abbott he was proud to support her.

“The more I see of Katherine Deves the more impressed I am with her courage, with her common sense, with her decency and with quite frankly her capacity to win this seat back for the Liberal Party,” Mr Abbott said in a video obtained by news.com.au.

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Mr Abbott said he was impressed with Ms Deves’ courage and common sense. Picture: Supplied.

Ms Deves is running for the seat he lost in 2019. Picture: Jason Edwards.

“So I really do urge all Warringah Liberals to get behind our candidate. She is our candidate, she’s doing a good job, and she deserves to be supported.”

Her 6,000 strong archive of tweets on transgenderism and her claim trans people are “mutilated” was first revealed by news.com.au last month sparking national headlines.

Ms Deves was a “Captains pick” for the seat and was chosen by a three person panel of Prime Minister Scott Morrison, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and former party president Chris McDiven.

Tony Abbott: Time to get behind Katherine Deves !https://t.co/jKt4isUXbH

— Samantha Maiden (@samanthamaiden) May 12, 2022

She did not face a preselection process which has angered some Liberals. The NSW Treasurer Matt Kean has called for her to be disendorsed.

“Whatever faults we might see in the selection process, we’ve got to do this, to get behind her for our community, for our party, for our country, and to help give the Morrison government the victory that our country needs,’’ Mr Abbott said.

Ms Deves campaign has been plagued with problems with claims in the Liberal Party that “a dossier” is being prepared of how the campaign was run and the issues during the election period.

The ex-PM praised Ms Deves for her courage, common sense and decency and predicted that she would win his former seat back. Picture: Mick Tsikasvia, NCA NewsWire.

It is said to include claims that the Prime Minister is regularly calling Ms Deves about the media onslaught despite the fact that she is not expected to win the seat.

Some volunteers have abandoned Warringah to instead hand out how-to-vote cards for the seats of North Sydney, Wentworth, Reid and Bennelong.

Earlier this week, Deves backtracked on a an apology for tweeting that transgender people were “surgically mutilated and sterilised”.

Ms Deves told Sky News that mutilation was, in fact, “the correct medico-legal term”.

She also said it was used in the Crimes Act of NSW, which references “female genital mutilation” but which also clarifies it is not a crime if it is for a sexual reassignment surgery performed by a doctor.

Despite Ms Deves’ controversial claims on transgender people, the Liberal candidate has backed using the term “mutilated”. Picture: Nikki Short.

Meanwhile, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has distanced himself from the Prime Minister’s handling of the controversy.

“I would use different language to what the Prime Minister has used, and I’ve been pretty outspoken and strong in my criticism of the way Katherine Deves has approached this issue,’’ Mr Frydenberg said.

He rejected claims in Nine newspapers today that her campaign was being run out of the Prime Minister’s office or that the Sky interview was set up by the Prime Minister’s office.

“That claim is completely rejected by the Prime Minister’s office,” Frydenberg said.

Mr Frydenberg has previously strongly criticised Ms Deves over her references to the Holocaust.

Originally published as Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott urges support for Katherine Deves in video plea