If you’re being generous, you could say that at least part of Scott Morrison’s rumoured electoral strategy for the Liberal Party went to plan.
Last week, Nine’s Niki Savva reported that senior Liberals also believed what many had suspected: Morrison’s full-throated support of transphobic candidate Katherine Deves was more than just a stubborn belief in his own captain’s pick. They feared that he was leaning into a culture war over trans Australians that would trade losing inner-city seats for picking up electorates in the outer suburbs.
Well, Morrison got at least half of what he wanted. The Liberals gave up those inner-city seats. But they didn’t make up the ground with outer-suburban seats from Western Sydney or the Hunter.
The performance of the NSW Liberals is an indictment of Morrison’s handpicked candidates and strategy. The NSW Liberals were unable to pick up anything in the House of Representatives and instead lost across the board (although it does look like the party will still pick up three Senate seats).
After tens of thousands of words were written about Deves, the result was the most obvious one. A candidate in a socially progressive seat, who had weeks of coverage about her abhorrent, disgusting views on a marginalised group, lost with a swing of 5% away from her party.
If you zoom out a little bit more, a young, professional working mother who — if you ignore her views on trans people (a big “if”, but indulge this) — was a fairly moderate candidate went backwards from Tony Abbott, a social conservative who was ill-suited to a modern Warringah.
Morrison’s promotion of Deves’ obsession with trans people appears to have backfired. The early results show that a confected moral panic around trans women in sport does not resonate with most voters, confirming prior polling that said as much. Australian conservatism’s dabbling in the anti-trans politics that has become increasingly popular with its US and UK counterparts has not paid off — at least for now.
It’s not all silver linings. Deves’ candidacy has undeniably elevated the issue. It found currency in some corners of the media, particularly in News Corp stables. Trans Australians have seen some of the country’s most powerful people and a third of voters in Warringah support a candidate who called them mutilated, sex offenders. This has a real impact. Calls to the national LGBTIQA+ helpline QLife spiked during Deves’ campaign.
Beyond being political losers, Scott Morrison’s and Katherine Deves’ legacies will be their cruelty. Their defeat will be of little comfort to the vulnerable Australians who they hurt.
hilst it is true that third of voters in Warringah supported Katherine Deves, a candidate who called trans women like me sex offenders and referred to trans children mutilated, let’s not lose sight of the clear message that came from the many voters who gave Zali Steggall victory yesterday. In delivering victory to Zali Steggall the voters in Warringah delivered a clear message to any future candidate who wants to focus on transphobia to win an election.
I believe this message was best summed up by the (now previous) LNP Finance Minister, Simon Birmingham, on the ABC last night, “… to see the Liberal vote appear to be going backwards to the tune of 7%, I think, sends a clear message” and “… in the case of Warringah — and we’ve all seen the issues that have played out there — I think it sends a message about what Australians believe when it comes to issues of respect, of inclusion, of diversity.”
Given how hard the last six weeks has been for the transgender community, I personally want to thank all the voters in Warringah for making it clear that trans lives do matter; And to also thank Zali Steggall for supporting the trans community during her campaign and achieving such a fantastic victory.
Emily Wells
QLD Regional Trans Activist of the Year 2020
Well said Emily.
Emily, please forgive us. Our defeated PM was a moron. We love you. Him? Well, he got what he deserves. And as for that candidate, hopefully we have heard the last of her.
Emily, I seriously do not know how people like you keep so strong. The past six weeks of vilification, lies, and sheer nastiness have been a disgrace and a blight on the whole country. Good for you, and let’s hope that politicians of all hues get the message. Trans lives are not for political barter.
Also, I look forward to all those people who expressed their oh so sincere concern for the vulnerable women in prison being monstered by men pretending to be women now coming to the fore and addressing the real systemic issues for vulnerable women in the criminal and the mental health systems. You don’t have to look far to see what those might be – there is a coronial inquest in Victoria at the moment that highlights many of them. I’m sure that Deves will be springing into action and lobbying on these issues now she has more time on her hands.
Also, I would point out that Deves defeat has sent a message to the whole country, and especially to the religious right – Australians are not going to respond to that sort of dog whistling anymore. Deves candidacy was not about her electorate. It was Morrison signalling to his base, and he and his base have now discovered that the rest of the country do not share their filthy, degenerate, far right views. It will be nice to think that will bury them, but I suspect it will be more like a whack a mole game now. But at least our hammers have power behind them.
Agreed, VJ, and he thought his “base” was the bulk of Australia- everybody who lived outside of the cities, everyone in the suburbs and the country. You’d have thought the marriage equality plebiscite result would have disabused him of his idea that ordinary Australians were like him, but no. So very glad he’s gone. So very happy my 30 something son and daughter-in-law actually feel proud of their country today, instead of the despair and deep shame they are so used to feeling.
With over three quarters of a century behind me I must admit I have not had much experience with trans persons until recently. Met one transforming from female to male at a birthday party recently. Lovely person, exhilarating and loving life. Then another on election pre polling and election day, transforming the other way and handing out voting cards for the Greens. Brave in a very strong Liberal booth with lots of retirees. Their positive approach to life was heartwarming. Both inferred that at some time in their life they were confused and lost their way and now have found a direction.
Perhaps that is what scares the conservatives. The gender conversion as opposed to religious conversion. In my opinion, who cares, they were friendly individuals and will may a great contribution to our diverse society.
‘The early results show that a confected moral panic around trans women in sport does not resonate with most voters’
That’s odd because, if Eric Abetz is to be believed, it was a hot topic with everyone he spoke to.
Perhaps he doesn’t get out much.
Maybe he’s just talking to himself? And he seems to have lost his Senate seat!
Such views would have been very much in keeping with those of his Uncle Otto.
But Great Uncle Otto would have found a quick solution – he was the one who gave Adolf the idea to deport European Jews to Poland, if one accepts Peter Longerich‘s well documented analysis in his bio of Hitler. Longerich is an eminent and highly respected German historian
Talking’s not all Eric is doing to himself!
Morrison bet on the suburbs being full of b*gots. He lost.
Best tweet:
Fourier Transgirl
@HowVeryEri
So looks like Kath Deves’ pronouns are was/were
love it
We are rapidly approaching the final crisis of capitalism and people want me to get exercised about the contents of other people’s underpants? Really?