Election 2022: Katherine Deves digs in against ‘vile’ critics

The Liberal candidate breaks her silence to slam ‘vile’ criticism and declare she is ‘unequivocally committed’ to running.

Liberal candidate Katherine Deves. Picture: Renee Nowytarger

Liberal Warringah candidate Katherine Deves has slammed the “vile” criticism of her and ­declared she is “unequivocally committed” to running in the federal election.

One of Scott Morrison’s nine “captain’s picks” in NSW, Ms Deves has faced unrelenting pressure for saying transgender children are being “surgically mutilated” and comparing the treatment of people who don’t support teenagers transitioning to the “Grudge trials of the Third Reich”.

Ms Deves has offered repeated apologies and distanced herself from her comments.

In an email to supporters on Monday, Ms Deves underlined her political rival Zali Steggall’s voting record as she offered an impassioned pitch to Warringah Liberal branch members.

“My opponents, parts of the left media and twittersphere have been unrelenting in calling for me to be disendorsed, because of past statements,” she wrote in an email to party members on Monday.

“I have been bullied in the most vile way and received death threats. I’m not going anywhere, as the Prime Minister said yesterday.”

Despite intense speculation about her political future, including calls from NSW Treasurer Matt Kean for her to be disendorsed, Ms Deves declared she would run as the Liberal’s candidate in the upcoming election.

“I am unequivocally committed to Warringah to have a plebiscite,” she said.

Ms Deves’s comments came as the Prime Minister pushed back against increased internal pressure to disendorse Ms Deves over her social media history.

A number of NSW Liberal ­insiders contacted by The Australian said the party should dump her, saying the ongoing unearthing of stories was undermining Mr Morrison and the Coalition’s ability to campaign effectively by consuming valuable airtime.

With Ms Deves’ position on transgender children allegedly well known before her selection by Mr Morrison, Liberal insiders said it seemed apparent normal party vetting processes hadn’t been followed by the selection committee comprising Mr Morrison, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and former federal president Christine McDiven.

Ms Deves’ selection came after Mr Morrison pushed the Liberal federal executive to dissolve the party’s NSW division and sideline established procedures to enable him to parachute in his preferred candidates.

With the Liberal Party in campaign mode, party insiders said while Foreign Minister Marise Payne had been technically correct in her assertion that any decision to disendorse Ms Deves was one for the NSW division, in ­reality her future was entirely in Mr Morrison’s hands.

Senator Payne distanced herself from Ms Deves’ views on Sunday, saying she did not share them.

In response to Ms Deves’ comments about the Third Reich, NSW Jewish Board of Deputies chief executive Darren Bark and Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Peter Wertheim said it appeared she had a “history of making inappropriate and ill-considered statements comparing modern-day events to the horrors of the Nazi era”.