Northern Territory Country Liberal Party senate candidate Jacinta Price has thrown her support behind controversial Liberal Party candidate Katherine Deves, saying she was "being silenced in the name of wokeness".
Key points:
Katherine Deves has been heavily criticised for her comments about transgender people
Jacinta Price has defended her right to speak on the issue
Ms Price has previously supported keeping transgender athletes out of women's sport
Ms Deves was hand-picked by a panel including Prime Minister Scott Morrison to be the Liberal candidate for the federal seat of Warringah in Sydney, currently held by independent MP Zali Steggall.
She has come under intense scrutiny after a series of social media posts in which she made controversial comments about transgender people.
The lawyer reportedly called transgender children "surgically mutilated and sterilised" and made claims linking transgender people to sex offenders.
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Ms Deves has since deleted the posts and offered a public apology.
"In my dedication to fighting for the rights of women and girls, my language has on occasion been unacceptable. It has hurt people and detracted from my arguments," Ms Deves said in a statement.
She has today been backed by Ms Price, who is a prominent anti-domestic violence campaigner, and the former deputy mayor of Alice Springs.
"If Deves can be silenced then ALL women can be silenced," Ms Price wrote on Facebook.
"Our daughters, nieces and granddaughters deserve to have a voice!
"If Deves can be silenced then imagine the plight of marginalised women in our nation? They too will be silenced in the name of 'Wokeness' and I for one will not stand for this!"
Thousands of people have supported and shared Ms Price's post, which has been "liked" by her fellow Country Liberal Party candidate Damien Ryan and Victorian state MP, Bev McArthur.
Ms Price has previously voiced her support for keeping transgender athletes out of women's sports.
"The dangers of high impact sports speak for themselves but having to compete against biological males who have transitioned and whose physical capabilities overpower biological womens (sic) physical capabilities puts our lives at greater risk of injury or even death, whether on the footy field or in the ring," she posted on social media in February.
Deves 'not fit for office', Matt Kean says
NSW Treasurer Matt Kean has labelled some of Ms Deves's comments as "outright bigotry" and not aligned with the values of the Liberal Party.
He said she is "not fit for office", and renewed his call for her to be disendorsed.
"This is not a one-off drunken Twitter rant, this is not a a statement made at university 30 years ago, Mr Kean said.
"This is a series of persistent positions held over a long period and in recent times."
Northern Territory Labor members would not be drawn on the issue when asked at a press conference, announcing a funding pledge for domestic violence organisations in Darwin on Tuesday.
NT Senator Malarndirri McCarthy did not say whether or not she agreed or disagreed with the stance of Ms Price.
"The division in the Liberal Party is really none of my business," she said.
Ms Deves has received the support of Prime Minister Scott Morrison to remain in the running for the seat of Warringah, but other Liberals have publicly backed calls for her to be disendorsed.
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2022-04-19 06:55:12Z
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