Sky News presenters have declared Katherine Deves loss in Warringah a victory.
‘It’s a victory as far as we’re concerned.” host Rowan Dean declared. “All the bed-wetters got smashed, but you did a lot better.”
Deves lost her campaign for the former Liberal blue ribbon seat, with incumbent Zali Steggall increasing her margin significantly. Steggall is set to be returned with over 60% of votes flowing to her on a two-party basis.
The result increases her margin from the previous election, sending the Liberals even further backwards from when former Prime Minister Tony Abbott lost the seat at the 2019 election.
Appearing on the Sunday morning political show Outsiders Deves told hosts Rowan Dean, James Morrow and Rita Panahi that she was proud of the campaign she had run.
“My campaign was fighting a battle on a number of fronts.” Deves told the Outsiders hosts. “We were fighting in the Warringah conference, we were fighting headquarters, we were fighting the leftie-loving press, and then we had to go out there and fight the teals.”
“Considering where we started and where we got to, I’m incredibly proud of my volunteers.” Deves said.
James Morrow said the fact that Deves only had a swing against her of 4.7% percent, when some of the nearby seats such as North Sydney and Wentworth had suffered much larger swings leading to the defeat of moderate Liberals including Trent Zimmerman and Dave Sharma, was proof that Deves traditional values were more appealing to the electorate than the “squishy” values of moderate Liberals.
Deves said she looked forward to continuing in the Liberal party and said she hoped the party would move to embracing more traditional values.
“Obviously there’s going to be a bit of a bloodletting.” Deves said of the party’s post election wash-up. “At a federal level the moderates have been eviscerated, and the Liberal party needs to get back to it’s traditional values.”
Host Rowan Dean went on to call Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham a “pompous git” for comments he made on election night.
Senator Birmingham told the ABC that he wished Deves had never been selected as a candidate, and in retrospect they should have disendorsed her early in the campaign.
Asked if she would run again for the Liberals, Deves delivered a meteorological metaphor.
“I would like to say to my detractors that when they thought I could not withstand this storm – that I am the storm, and I am not going anywhere.”
Deves said that while she had not managed to get enough support in Warringah, she had received an overwhelming amount of support from ordinary Australian’s across the country who she says support her views.
OIP Staff
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