Katherine Deves, the founder of Save Women’s Sport has been endorsed by the Liberal party to be their candidate for the New South Wales seat of Warringah at the federal election.
Deves is among nine candidates announced today by the party. Preselection in the New South Wales division was taken over by a three person committee comprising Prime Minister Scott Morrison, NSW Premier Domonic Perrottet, and former party president Christine McDiven.
Deciding who would be the party’s candidates in New South Wales has been bogged down for months, which has lead to the takeover by the party’s federal executive.
Previously incumbent members Trent Zimmerman, Susan Ley and Alex Hawke were announced as being selected to retain preselection for their seats, but the move has been challenged in court by NSW Liberal state executive Matthew Camenzuli.
If the legal challenge in the NSW Court of Appeal is upheld, it would likely throw the validity of the selection of the nine new candidates into doubt. A decision is expected within the coming week.
Deves is a self-described “biological sex campaigner” who has previously described transgender children as being “surgically mutilated”. She is the founder of Save Women’s Sport, an organisation that argues in favour of legislation that would allow for discrimination of transgender women and children in sports.
The 44-year-old candidate has a significant level of recognition through her regular appearances on Sky News. In February Deves said there was too much of as focus on LGBTI people in the education system.
Deves is a believer in the theory of social contagion, arguing that exposure to information about gender identity leads to children declaring that they are transgender.
“When it comes to gender identity there really is no place for it in schools. Our leadership really needs to stand up and start listening to the parents who do not want this, the schools who do not want this, because the children are getting onboard with it, because they are seeing it on social media, general media, there is social contagion amongst the children.”
“We know the risk is, if they start declaring that they are trans or non-binary, they might be pushed on to that medicalised pathway and irreversible surgeries that there are many clinicians and doctors trying to warn everyone about, because we are going to be left with a cohort of children, who have been experimented on, who are going to be left as life-long medical patients.” Deves told the Chris Kenny program on Sky News.
The seat of Warringah was previously held by former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who lost the seat to intendent Zali Steggal at the 2019 election. The North Sydney seat had been held by the Liberals since 1945, except for a period of a few months in 1969 when the Liberal member Edward St John resigned from the party after it became apparent he would not be endorsed as a candidate at the next election.
The other candidates announced this morning include Jenny Ware, for the seat of Hughes, which is currently held by Craig Kelly. Kelly quit the Liberals to sit as an independent during the current parliamentary term, and later joined Clive Palmer’s United Australia party.
Maria Kovacic will be the Liberals candidate in Parramatta, Jerry Nockles will campaign in Eden-Monaro, Wenjie Zhang will stand against Labor leader Anthony Albanese in Grayndler, Courtney Nguyen stand for the Liberals in Fowler, Pradeep Pathi in Greenway, Vivek Singha in McMahon and Katrina Wark will run in Newcastle.
OIP Staff
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