Scott Morrison has declared he pursued contentious captain's picks in New South Wales - sparking a destructive internal Liberal party brawl culminating in election-eve legal challenges - because he wanted to stand up "for the women in my team".
After the NSW court of appeal on Tuesday confirmed Morrison's preferred candidates were valid, clearing the way for the federal election to be called, Morrison told the ABC he intervened in the process because "I'm asked all the time why won't the prime minister do more about getting good women in parliament and stand up for the women in parliament".
"I stood up for the women in my team," the prime minister told the 7.30 program.
When it was pointed out to Morrison that his preferred candidates in his home state were demonstrably not all women, the prime minister said defending female candidates had been his primary motivation "and people know that".
Morrison said of the candidates selected during the federal intervention "50% were women and 50% were men".
The prime minister said his agenda was "ensuring we put the best candidates in the field to ensure that our government could put the best foot forward to ensure we continue to have a strong economy".
He decried "factional games" in the Liberal party. When it was pointed out to the prime minister he had his own allies and agendas, as everyone in professional politics does, Morrison declared he had "always stood up to the factions" - in the process accumulating enemies - because he did not allow people to "bully their way into getting the outcomes they want".
The calling of the election is now only days away but the government is struggling to find clear air to sell its cash-splash budget - in large part because of the roiling in NSW.
Morrison on Tuesday night attempted to downplay recent public excoriations from colleagues.
The conservative stalwart Concetta Fierravanti-Wells chose budget night to brand the prime minister an "autocrat [and] a bully who has no moral compass" - an intervention sparking renewed debate about Morrison's character.
Fierravanti-Wells - who has recently been relegated to an unwinnable spot on the Liberal party's NSW Senate ticket- on Tuesday night dismissed Morrison's suggestion he was protecting women.
"Great women? What bilge water! This is his code for 'I want groupthink'! Morrison is simply using the 'gender card' to conflate captain's picks to trash democratic processes in NSW," she told 7.30 in a statement.
Catherine Cusack, a NSW Liberal who announced two weeks ago she would resign from the state Legislative Council over her anger about flood relief, had lambasted the prime minister earlier on Tuesday.
Cusack accused Morrison of having "ruined" the Liberal party, declaring he had "trashed" its values over two decades, first as state director, "then as a scheming MP and now as prime minister finding loopholes in our constitution to delay preselections in order to get his way".
Morrison told the ABC on Tuesday night he had known Cusack "for a long time" and suggested she had made similar criticisms of the former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian.
When it was put to Morrison that Berejiklian, too, had branded him "a horrible, horrible person" in a leaked text exchange, the prime minister said the former premier had denied saying that. Berejiklian actually said she couldn't recall the exchange.
As well as the public blasts from some colleagues, Morrison is also being dogged by renewed controversy about his own controversial preselection for Cook in 2007.
Morrison said his critics were people with axes to grind.
The prime minister said people had a tendency to lash out when they became "frustrated in the political process". He suggested the recent interventions were timed to inflict maximum damage.
"As a prime minister, you can't just say yes to everybody and give everybody what they want."
While Morrison's captain's picks were upheld by the court of appeal, Guardian Australia understands the unsuccessful plaintiff, Matthew Camenzul, who is a member of the NSW state executive, will seek to appeal to the high court - although time is running out.
Tuesday's NSW court of appeal decision backed the preselection of two ministers, Ley and Alex Hawke, as the candidates for Farrer and Mitchell, respectively.
Sitting MP Trent Zimmerman was confirmed as the candidate for North Sydney where he is facing a challenge from independent Kylea Tink and from Labor candidate Catherine Renshaw.
Lawyer Jenny Ware will run in the winnable seat of Hughes, where she is up against two independents and the former member, Craig Kelly, who defected to the United Australia party.
In Warringah, another lawyer, Katherine Deves, who has campaigned against transgender women being included in women's sport, will run against independent Zali Steggall.
The court of appeal case unsuccessfully challenged the actions of a three-person committee appointed by the federal Liberal party which included Morrison. The committee intervened in March after factional brawling within the NSW Liberal party had stalled the usual preselection processes, leaving the party without candidates in several important seats.
The committee twice briefly took over the troubled NSW branch and bypassed rank and file preselections to confirm candidates.
The major parties are now in full campaign mode, with the leaders and frontbenchers barnstorming marginal seats around the country. Morrison is expected to call the election over the coming days. The latest batch of opinion polls suggest the Coalition will begin the campaign trailing Labor.
Additional reporting by Paul Karp
