Election 2022: Outspoken Katherine Deves back in firing line

Scott Morrison continues to back Katherine Deves, the Liberal’s candidate who has doubled down on her trans teen comments.

Scott Morrison says he continues to support Katherine Deves, the Liberal’s embattled Warringah candidate who has doubled down on her comments surrounding transgender teenagers.

Ms Deves has previously apologised for describing teenagers who underwent gender reassignment surgeries as being “mutilated” and “sterilised”. But she told Sky News yesterday the phrase was the correct terminology and she was only sorry if people were offended by her language.

“The issues she commented on yesterday are incredibly controversial. We’re talking about gender reversal surgery for young adolescents and we can’t pretend this is not a serious, significant issue. It is,” Mr Morrison told reporters on Tuesday morning.

“It’s complicated and the issues that have to be considered, first and foremost in the welfare of the adolescent child and their parents, and their parents - we can’t pretend that this type of surgery is some minor procedure.”

Journalists were quick to point out that children under 18 cannot undergo gender reassignment surgery.

Anthony Albanese questioned why Mr Morrison has stood so firmly by Ms Deves. “Vulnerable people… are deserving of respect,” Mr Albanese said. “Every human being deserves respect. What we need to look for from our national political leaders is ways to unify the country and bring people together, not play politics in order to divide people.”

In an interview outside a voting booth in the seat of Warringah on Monday, Ms Deves said she was “apologising for how people might have perceived it and the fact that it is confronting and it is ugly”.

But the Liberal candidate appeared to stand by her previous comments, saying that her wording in the now deleted tweet was “the correct medico-legal term”.

“I apologise for my language. I do not resile from my position,” she told Sky News presenter Chris Kenny.

The candidate, who supports the “Save Women’s Sports” bill, which calls for trans women to be excluded from participating in women’s sporting competitions, said NSW Treasurer Matt Kean “was not reading the room” after he called for her to be disendorsed. “He doesn’t understand that the quiet Australians are behind me on that particular issue,” she said, adding that she had a “groundswell of support”.

As Scott Morrison’s “captain’s pick” for the seat previously held by Tony Abbott, Ms Deves is hopeful that she will oust the former prime minister’s conqueror, independent Zali Steggall.

Asked whether the Liberal Party had blocked her from speaking to the media after multiple interview requests were denied, she said: “They want me to concentrate on Warringah and they want me to concentrate on local media and local issues.”

She denied being a distraction and said “it’s not controversial for women and girls to want to have a female-only sports category”.