Controversial former Liberal candidate Katherine Deves named on One Nation ticket in Australia

Katherine Deves, who was defeated as a Liberal Party candidate at a federal election after campaigning to exclude transgender women from women's sport, will stand for the right-wing party One Nation at next year's New South Wales state election in Australia.

On Sunday, One Nation's New South Wales leader, Mike Newman, announced four candidates for the state upper house, the Legislative Council. Deves was one of the four.

The other three candidates are Arnon Wither, a construction worker from the Hunter region who works as an electorate officer for Senator Sean Bell; Manti Steele, a farmer, teacher and mother of eight from Dubbo; and Daniel Hill, a surf lifesaver from the state's south coast.

Newman said on Sunday that the upper house candidates were 'authentic', 'people from the real world' and not 'career politicians'. He said the party was aiming for people who understand business, the pinch points and pain points of the cost of living, and cashflow.

So far One Nation has announced only a single lower house candidate — Newman himself, in the electorate of Cessnock. But Newman said the party would run candidates in all 93 lower house seats.

Deves was handpicked by the then prime minister Scott Morrison to run as the Liberal candidate for the federal seat of Warringah in New South Wales in 2022. Her candidacy was marred by controversy, including when she likened anti-trans activism to standing up against the Holocaust.

On Sunday, Deves said she had joined One Nation 'because I wanted to be a part of the rescue, recovery, and restoration of our nation'. She said the cost of living was skyrocketing — fuel, housing and energy — and that the government was so wedded to 'destructive ideologies' like DEI and net zero that it was prepared to impoverish everyone.

If elected, Deves said she would look to make changes to state laws regarding discrimination, hate speech, vilification and birth certificates, restoring clear and accurate language around biological sex and ensuring that women and girls have safe spaces for services and sports.

One Nation has required its state election candidates to sign non-disclosure agreements preventing them from discussing their potential candidacy with the media. News24 reported last month that Deves would run as an upper house candidate; she had announced in September that she joined One Nation.

When Guardian Australia contacted Deves about her potential candidacy in October, she directed inquiries to Vikki Campion, the state party's part-time media adviser. The party said in a statement at the time that it had confirmed only three candidates — Newman, the lead upper house candidate Stuart Bonds, and a Tamworth firearms manufacturer, Jeff Bacon.