Controversial former Liberal candidate Katherine Deves has withdrawn from the race to fill a Senate vacancy after a ruthless interview cast doubt on her credentials.
Ms Deves announced on Sunday that she is withdrawing from the race to fill the spot in the NSW Senate left open by the death of former General Jim Molan
Ms Deves said she would devote her time to her legal advocacy in the high-profile Tickle v Giggle case and that it was ‘not the right time’ to get back into politics.
“This week (there was) a lot of soul-searching, a few sleepless nights (but) ultimately it came down to a matter of priorities whether I nominated for the Senate and I decided at this point that it just wasn’t the right time for me,” she said sky news.
‘There is a strong field here that all bring something different to the table.
“There will be a very hard fight and I have every confidence that the voters of the Liberal party will choose the right person to carry on Jim Molan’s legacy.”
Her announcement comes days after Ms Deves interrupted a harsh questioning of Sky News presenter Sheree Markson on Monday.
Former Liberal candidate Katherine Deves (right) faced a whim from Sky New presenter Sharee Markson
Despite failing to regain the blue ribbon seat, Ms. Deves threw in her hat to replace the late Senator Jim Molan (pictured left with daughter Erin Molan)
Ms. Deves had announced that she would throw in her hat to replace Senator Molan, who died in January.
She was defeated as the Liberal candidate for Tony Abbott’s old seat of Warringah in last year’s federal election, defeated by independent Zali Steggall after a campaign derailed by debate over her views on the transgender issue.
Her bid took a turn for the worse early on when old tweets against transgender participation in women’s sports were unearthed.
“You have insulted transgender children and their parents, you have had to apologize to the Jewish community, you have even had to visit the Sydney Holocaust Museum after making Nazi comparisons,” Markson asked her at the start of the week.
“Why on earth do you think you’d be the best person to replace the highly respected and beloved Senator Jim Molan?”
Mrs. Deves compared herself to General Molan and said she was ready to follow in his footsteps.
“He had a very impressive career in the military. I read his book,” she said.
“In terms of what I think I could bring to the table, well, I’m a strong conservative woman…I can show the people I would be representing that I was going to fight there.
And I echo some of the values that Jim had, especially around issues like, you know, defending our freedom of speech, defending our great nation, championing ambitious Australian families and championing healthy mind.’
Ms Deves said visiting the Sydney Holocaust Museum was an “incredibly moving and memorable experience” but she was told by Markson to go alone because she posted an offensive tweet.
Her comments were actually part of a panel discussion, not a tweet, in 2021, in which she compared opposition to transgender activism to those who opposed Nazi Germany’s occupation of France during World War II.
Ms Deves told Markson she “discussed the rise of fascist regimes” and how their “deeply authoritarian and socialist ideologies are infiltrating our societies.”
Deves stood for Warringah’s seat in the last election and was defeated after her transphobic tweets came to the fore calling transgender children ‘mutilated’, among other controversial statements
“I’m not apologizing, but I learned it was the absolute wrong thing to do and I repented and apologised,” she said.
Tweets also surfaced during the latest federal campaign in which Ms. Deves called transgender children “mutilated.”
Ms Deves was a prominent promoter of British “women’s rights” activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, better known by her social media name Posey Parker, who toured Australia in March.
Ms Keen-Minshull’s rallies were marred by louder, often louder groups of counter-protesters and in Melbourne, her event outside Victoria’s Parliament was joined by a neo-Nazi group that the original organizers of the rally said had not been invited.
The lawsuit Ms. Deves is working on as an attorney is a Federal Court action brought by transgender activist Roxanne Tickle who demanded access to the women-only app Giggle for Girls, developed by entrepreneur Sally “Sall” Grover.
Senator Jim Molan died in January at age 72 after a long battle with cancer.
With Ms Deves’ withdrawal, the two leading candidates to fill the NSW vacancy are Liberal Party Chair Maria Kovacic and former NSW transport minister Andrew Constance.
In accordance with standard practice, the Liberal Party may nominate a successor, who is then approved by the Governor.
