In a previous post I pointed out that when push comes to shove the Liberal Party will cave to the Twitter mob and the left media on matters important to its base. No better example of this is Scott Morrison’s capitulation to the left media on support for Katherine Deves the Liberal candidate for the seat of Warringah.
For those who my not have heard of Katherine Deves she is the co-founder of Save Women’s Sport Australasia; an organisation dedicated to protecting women’s sports from the unfair competition from men identifying as women. Save Women’s Sport campaigns for the view that sport must be catergorised by sex not gender Identity.
Deves is also a forthright campaigner in defence of children against the predatory trans-lobby pushing a gender affirming approach to gender-dysphoria and adolescent mental illness. She sees puberty-blocking and sexual reassignment surgery for what it is, that is, mutilation and sterilisation.
Enter Scott Morrison. He endorsed Katherine Deves and her stand on men in womens sport saying:
‘Katherine Deves over there in Warringah, you know, she’s standing up for something really important, and that is to ensure that, you know, when it comes to girls playing sport and women playing sport, that they’re playing against people of the same sex.’
Of course in no time at all there was a viscious pile on from Twitter and the media claimed her views and comments on mutilation and sterilisation of children was bigotted intolerant and horrendous.
As Lyle Shelton put it in the Spectator Australia “..Morrison and Liberal campaign HQ folded like a cheap suit…”. Within 48 Hours. Morrison caved to the LBGT+ mob and their media supporters. Instead of supporting his candidate he waffled and backtracked. He defended her from calls for dis-endorsement as a Liberal candidate but his support was equivocal acknowledging her passion but also saying “…There are ways that she’s expressed this in the past that she no longer feels comfortable with. And it’s important that she understands that and learns those lessons. Which she has.”
in a further lack of support, Morrison did not pull into line those in the Liberal Party who went public with attacks on calling Deves’s views “horrendous” and calling for Deves’s resignation. Morrison even allowed his representative on the candidate nomination committee immigration Minister Alex Hawke to say that Deves had a history of offensive comments including labelling trans kids as surgically mutilated.
UPDATE 21 April 2022
Scott Morrison has belatedly stated more fulsome support for Katherine Deves. See for example News.com “Perrottet backs PM’s call Aussies are sick of ‘walking on eggshells’ because of cancel culture”, abc.net.au VIDEO: “PM says he will not allow Katherine Deves to be silenced” and Spectator Australia “Supporting Ms Deves”
Scott Morrison deserves some praise for this but the most disappointing aspect is that his support did not come until there was a ground swell of support for Deves from other politicians such as Dominic Perrottet and the general public. It seems “Scotty From Marketing” had to wait for the focus group results before he took a stand.
Rachael Wong writing in the Spectator Australia “How the left silence women – starting with Deves” sums up the Morrison’s belated
“However, the Prime Minister may have redeemed himself in his latest response to those agitating for Deves to be cancelled, throwing strong support behind her on Tuesday:
‘She is a woman, standing up for women and girls and their access to fair sport in this country.
I’m not going to allow her to be silenced, I’m not going to allow her to be pushed aside as the pile-on comes in to try and silence her.
I’ll stand up with her, my team is standing up with her, and we will make sure that she won’t be silenced.
I think she will make a great Member of Parliament. I don’t think she should be silenced because she has views that others don’t agree with.’
This is the kind of response that Australians have been waiting for from the Prime Minister. It is in line with a poll which reveals that the vast majority of Australians appear to support Deves getting a fair go, as well as the multiple MPs and former Prime Ministers who have started to come out in support of her (including Tony Abbott, Dominic Perrottet, and John Howard)”.