The Liberal MP for the seat of North Sydney, Trent Zimmerman, asked the prime minister’s office to dump controversial candidate Katherine Deves because of her comments on transgender issues.
According to multiple sources, Zimmerman appealed last week to senior members of the prime minister’s office and to party officials for Morrison to dump Deves because of inflammatory comments she has made on various social media platforms about the transgender community.
On Monday, in response to questions from Guardian Australia about the request, Zimmerman said he would “never comment on private discussions”.
The prime minister’s office declined to comment.
The direct appeal to the prime minister’s office to dump the controversial candidate for Tony Abbott’s former seat of Warringah is understood to have fallen on deaf ears, prompting the NSW treasurer and senior moderate, Matt Kean, to make the appeal publicly on Thursday.
Kean had said that Deves should be disendorsed, saying “there is no place in a mainstream political party for bigotry”.
“Political leaders should be condemning the persecution of people based on their gender, not participating in it.”
But in response, Morrison said he would not partake in the Deves “pile-on”, saying she had apologised.
“I don’t share Matt’s view. I share Tony Abbott’s view. I’m not joining that pile-on and she has learned from her experiences … and I have no doubt she will pursue these issues in a more sensitive way,” he said.
“As you are going forward as a candidate you need to know the things that perhaps, in your past, you shouldn’t be doing the same way.”
“It is important she understands that and learns those lessons which she has.”
Deves was one of a number of “captain’s pick” candidates chosen by Morrison to run in 13 electorates – in her case, in Warringah, against the independent MP, Zali Steggall – after a stalled and viciously contested preselection process left the party without candidates in key seats.
Zimmerman’s appeal is the latest in a string of Liberals who want Deves dumped, with other moderate Liberals in NSW including Dave Sharma in Wentworth and senator Andrew Bragg also understood to be deeply concerned about her candidacy.
Sharma, who faces a challenge from Allegra Spender in his seat of Wentworth, liked Kean’s statement on Twitter, but would not comment on whether he had also contacted the prime minister’s office to call for her to be disendorsed.
Spender criticised Sharma for not calling out Deves, saying he needed to “stand up for his community and condemn Katherine Deves’ disgusting comments”.
The call from Zimmerman comes amid ongoing furore about Deves’ comments about the trans community, and as moderate Liberal MPs fear the issue will prove an unwelcome distraction as they seek to keep their seats against independents backed by Climate 200.
Guardian Australia has reported that Deves described Wear it Purple Day as a “grooming tactic” promoting “extreme body modification” on her now-deleted website.
She also repeatedly misgendered a New Zealand trans athlete, Laurel Hubbard, and suggested a young boy could ask to “remove his penis” after attending a respectful relationships workshop at school.
It came after News.com.au reported Deves had also deleted social media accounts on which she described trans children as “surgically mutilated and sterilised” and said she was “triggered” by the LGBTQ+ rainbow flag.
Deves also apologised for some of those posts, saying that her comments were “not acceptable”.
“My advocacy for the rights and safety of women and girls is well known, and I stand by my desire to ensure we protect the safety of women and girls and our entire community,” she said in a statement.
“However, the language I used was not acceptable, and for that I apologise.”
The NSW senator and foreign minister, Marise Payne, was repeatedly asked on Sunday whether she supported Deves for the seat, with nominations due to be finalised by Tuesday.
“I don’t share Ms Deves’ comments that she has made, but importantly she has apologised and withdrawn those views,” Senator Payne told ABC’s Insiders program.
Asked if she should be dumped, Payne said: “Ms Deves is the Liberal candidate and that is the approach we are taking.”
Senior government sources said that dumping Deves was not a “consequence-free” decision, however, and could lead to further distractions for the party.
There is also doubt about who would take her place in the event she was disendorsed, with suggestions the party could instead “run dead” in the seat, which is held by Steggall on a 7.2% margin.
