Election 2022: Morrison backs pick Katherine Deves as gender apology jettisoned

Scott Morrison has stood by Katherine Deves after she doubled down on her view that people who have undergone gender confirmation surgery are ‘mutilated’ and ‘sterilised’.

Scott Morrison has stood by Katherine Deves – his controversial captain’s pick for the seat of Warringah – after she doubled down on her view that people who have undergone gender confirmation surgery are “mutilated” and ­“sterilised”.

Ms Deves, co-founder of the Save Women’s Sport organisation that campaigns to ban transgender women from competing in female sport, has been criticised for comments about transgender people and LGBTQI+ issues.

While apologising last month for her “inappropriate language” and deleting social media ­accounts, Ms Deves on Monday backtracked on that apology and said phrasing such as “surgical ­mutilation” was “the correct terminology” for gender reassignment surgery. “I’m apologising for how people might have perceived it, and the fact that it is confronting, and it is ugly, and I certainly don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings,” she told Sky News. “But that is the correct terminology.”

She said “overwhelmingly” Australians agreed with her position of wanting to preserve women-only sport for biological women, and Liberals who had called for her to be disendorsed, such as NSW Treasurer Matt Kean, had not “read the room”.

Numerous Liberal moderates in the Morrison government facing challenges from left-leaning independents, such as Dave ­Sharma in the seat of Wentworth in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, have attempted to distance themselves from Ms Deves to prevent alienating their inner-city constituents.

But while accepting the topic was “incredibly controversial”, the Prime Minister refused to condemn Ms Deves’ comments.

“We’re talking about gender ­reversal surgery for young adolescents and we can’t pretend this is not a significant issue. It is,” he said. “It’s complicated and the ­issues that have to be considered, first and foremost, (are) the welfare of the adolescent child and their parents. We can’t pretend that this type of surgery is some minor procedure. This is a very significant change to a young person’s life and it is often irreversible. And I think ensuring that we understand what we’re dealing with here is incredibly important.”

While Mr Morrison noted the risks for “a child” to undergo such a procedure, the government’s own Health Direct website states that to have gender confirmation surgery you “must be over 18”.

Mr Morrison clarified he was referring to children undergoing other parts of “the process”, such as hormone therapy.

“When issues of gender are being discussed with adolescents, that’s when a process can commence,” he said. “These are issues that I have no doubt Australians are very concerned about.”

Despite admitting he “wouldn’t have used that language” invoked by Ms Deves when asked about her claim that mutilation was the “correct terminology”, Mr Morrison said: “I’m not a surgeon.”

He said he had no regrets about picking Ms Deves for Warringah, which is held by independent Zali Steggall, who won the Sydney seat from Tony Abbott in 2019. “I have no doubts in selecting a strong woman who wanted to represent the Liberal Party,” he said.