Premier Dominic Perrottet calls for ‘sensitive’ debate about female sports concerns

Premier Dominic Perrottet has called for “sensitive” debate about the inclusion of transgender athletes in female sports competitions.

Premier Dominic Perrottet has thrown his weight behind women and girls fighting for transgender athletes to be excluded from women’s sport, declaring it a “matter of fairness and physiology”.

Weighing into the debate after his Treasurer called for Liberal candidate Katherine Deves to be dumped, Mr Perrottet agreed that "girls and women should be free to play sport against girls and women”.

Mr Perrottet said an “insensitively expressed view” over transgender athletes in sport “should never distract us from the merits of the substantive issue”.

“I agree with most fair minded Australians that girls and women should be free to play sport against girls and women, particularly where there might otherwise be an unfair advantage – it’s a matter of fairness and physiology,” Mr Perrottet said.

“The right thing to do is take the concerns of women and girls seriously, not shut them down, and if that means looking at appropriate protections for women-only sports, let’s have the conversation.”

“Girls and women should be free to play sport against girls and women, particularly where there might otherwise be an unfair advantage – it’s a matter of fairness and physiology” – Dominic Perrottet. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

“Clearly these issues have to be debated in a sensitive way at every step, but an insensitively expressed view should never distract us from the merits of the substantive issue,” he said.

“We need to handle these issues with compassion and commonsense.”

Mr Perrottet’s comments come amid a growing war of words within both the state and federal Liberal parties over Ms Deves’ “captain’s pick” preselection to stand against Zali Steggall in Warringah.

Members of the party’s moderate wing, most notably Treasurer Matt Kean, have been outspoken about the choice.

Mr Kean called for Ms Deves to be dumped as a candidate for previous anti-transgender comments for which she has since apologised.

Dominic Perrottet has backed Katherine Deves’ view on separating transgender athletes from women's sport.

Conservative Liberals have privately accused Mr Kean of attempting to undermine Ms Deves’ candidacy to help fellow moderates including Trent Zimmerman in nearby North Sydney.

Several state and federal figures were privately incensed at Mr Kean for coming out against Ms Deves’ preselection, suggesting that his comments would both harden the prime minister’s resolve to stick up for his candidate and provoke what one warned would be a “civil war” within the party after the election.

On Tuesday Mr Kean not only found himself out of step with Scott Morrison, who said “I’m not going to allow her to be silenced (or) pushed aside as the pile on comes in to try and silence her,” but NSW Labor leader Chris Minns as well.

Asked by 2GB’s Ben Fordham about the issue of transgender athletes being allowed to compete with women, Mr Minns said: “I think it’s a complicated issue but the simple fact is when young male adolescents go through puberty they have a large amount of a natural chemical called testosterone.

“It’s a powerful, natural anabolic steroid and there’s simply not enough preparation, training, dieting or natural skill for female athletes to overcome that competitive advantage.”

Originally published as Premier Dominic Perrottet calls for ‘sensitive’ debate about female sports concerns