Latest news with #GarethWard
Sydney Morning Herald
13 hours ago
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Kiama voters chose Gareth Ward after he was charged. This is how they feel now
In 2023, nearly a year after being charged with three counts of indecent assault, one count of sexual intercourse without consent, and one charge of common assault, Kiama MP Gareth Ward stunned the NSW political establishment by holding on to his seat at the state election. Now, after Ward was found guilty on Friday of serious sexual offences involving two young men, the community that decided to give the former Liberal minister the benefit of the doubt has declared he must resign. 'The court has made its decision and proven that he's guilty,' retiree Tristan Lazare said on Tuesday. 'He's hurt people. Those scars will last a lifetime.' The 75-year-old's comments were echoed in more emphatic terms by teacher Alecia Zoccoli. 'He absolutely should resign,' she said. 'Anyone with a sketchy idea of right and wrong shouldn't be a member of parliament.' Ward, elected in 2011, has so far refused to quit despite pressure from Premier Chris Minns and Liberal leader Mark Speakman to go. Under the NSW parliament's Constitution, an MP convicted of a crime punishable with a prison term of more than five years will have their seat vacated, although the process will be put on hold pending an appeal. Ward will almost certainly be expelled, potentially as soon as early next week, after the government and opposition indicated they would support a motion to do so. On Wednesday, the Crown will seek a detention application, potentially putting Ward behind bars.
The Age
13 hours ago
- Politics
- The Age
Kiama voters chose Gareth Ward after he was charged. This is how they feel now
In 2023, nearly a year after being charged with three counts of indecent assault, one count of sexual intercourse without consent, and one charge of common assault, Kiama MP Gareth Ward stunned the NSW political establishment by holding on to his seat at the state election. Now, after Ward was found guilty on Friday of serious sexual offences involving two young men, the community that decided to give the former Liberal minister the benefit of the doubt has declared he must resign. 'The court has made its decision and proven that he's guilty,' retiree Tristan Lazare said on Tuesday. 'He's hurt people. Those scars will last a lifetime.' The 75-year-old's comments were echoed in more emphatic terms by teacher Alecia Zoccoli. 'He absolutely should resign,' she said. 'Anyone with a sketchy idea of right and wrong shouldn't be a member of parliament.' Ward, elected in 2011, has so far refused to quit despite pressure from Premier Chris Minns and Liberal leader Mark Speakman to go. Under the NSW parliament's Constitution, an MP convicted of a crime punishable with a prison term of more than five years will have their seat vacated, although the process will be put on hold pending an appeal. Ward will almost certainly be expelled, potentially as soon as early next week, after the government and opposition indicated they would support a motion to do so. On Wednesday, the Crown will seek a detention application, potentially putting Ward behind bars.
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
‘Ridiculous' for convicted Kiama MP Gareth Ward to stay on: NSW Premier Chris Minns
Kiama MP Gareth Ward could be booted from parliament as early as next week after he was convicted of assaulting two young men, with the state government preparing a motion to have him expelled. The former Liberal MP was found guilty of three counts of assault with act of indecency against an 18-year-old man at Meroo Meadow in 2013 by a jury on Friday. The jury also found the one-time families minister guilty of a fourth offence of intercourse without consent against a 24-year-old man in Potts Point in 2015. It is understood the state government will move a motion when parliament resumes on Tuesday, August 5 to expel Ward. On Monday, Premier Chris Minns praised Ward's accusers as 'incredibly courageous people' and again called on the disgraced MP to resign from parliament. 'Firstly, he should resign,' Mr Minns said. 'It is completely ridiculous to be in a situation where someone has been not accused, not charged, but convicted of incredibly serious offences and stay as a member of parliament.' Mr Minns said the NSW Legislative Assembly needed to 'be in a position where it protects its integrity'. 'One of the positions it can take to protect its integrity is to say that if you've been convicted of these serious charges, it's not reasonable that member stay as a member of parliament,' he said. 'I haven't spoken to all of my colleagues, and I haven't spoken to the crossbench or the opposition about it, but it would seem ridiculous that he would continue as a member of parliament.' Mr Minns confirmed the parliament had the power to remove Ward but noted it was important that the Legislative Assembly's decision 'is not punitive'. 'The punitive measure is up to the NSW court. It's not up to parliament,' he said. 'They'll make the decision about what punishment is applied, not us.' Asked on Monday if he would support a motion to expel Ward from parliament if he did not resign, Opposition Leader Mark Speakman said he would. 'Subject to the government indicating its legal advice that the power is there, we would support that motion,' Mr Speakman said. 'And look, on the face of it, the power is there. But I would like to see the legal advice.' Both Labor and the Liberals have called on Ward to resign following Friday's verdict. 'Gareth Ward should not be in parliament,' Mr Speakman said. 'The jury finding is of behaviour that is completely reprehensible. It's sickening. 'He should not be in the parliament. His position is untenable. He cannot represent the constituents of Kiama. 'He obviously can't represent them when he's incarcerated, and even if he remains out of incarceration for the time being, there is no way he can effectively represent his constituents. 'So he must resign, and if he doesn't resign, then parliament has to take all the steps it can to protect its integrity, and if the power is there to expel Mr Ward, he should be expelled.' Neither Mr Minns nor Mr Speakman confirmed whether they were involved in discussions about preselecting candidates for a potential by-election. 'I'm sure there are conversations under way,' Mr Speakman said. He later went on to clarify: 'I'm just surmising the nature of politics these sort of conversations happen.' Ward only narrowly beat out Labor's Katelin McInerney in the 2023 state election. Ward is yet to be sentenced and will next appear in court on Wednesday.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Labor and Coalition want convicted rapist Gareth Ward expelled from NSW parliament
Moves are afoot to expel the MP for Kiama, Gareth Ward, from the New South Wales parliament after he was convicted of serious sexual offences involving two young men. State parliament sits next week and Ward has not yet said whether he intends to appeal Friday's convictions. The MP has also not indicated whether he might resign from parliament and did not respond to questions from Guardian Australia. Ward was granted bail ahead of a hearing on Wednesday, when the prosecution will seek to have him taken into custody ahead of his sentencing. A date for that is due to be set on Wednesday. The 44-year-old stood trial in the NSW district court after pleading not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and indecent assault charges. Several politicians have been convicted of 'an infamous crime' or a crime that carries a sentence of five years or more – which is the threshold that disqualifies a person from sitting in the NSW parliament. Most have chosen to resign when they have been charged and were well out of parliament by the time they were convicted. So the question of how lodging an appeal – or winning an appeal – might affect an MPs right to sit in the parliament has rarely arisen. Both major parties are hoping that Ward will choose to resign from parliament and the matter is resolved quickly. But Ward has, to date, shown little inclination to end his own political career. In 2021, Ward left the Liberal party and moved to the crossbench after identifying himself as the state MP under investigation by the child abuse and sex crimes squad of the NSW police force. When charges were laid in March 2022, then NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet called for his resignation. On 24 March 2022, Ward was suspended after a motion unanimously passed the Legislative Assembly. In mid-August 2022, Ward was committed to stand trial. But Ward's voters in the south coast state seat of Kiama re-elected him in March 2023 and he returned to Macquarie Street. The Minns government believes Ward should not sit in parliament now he is convicted of serious crimes and that seniment is echoed by the opposition. The premier, Chris Minns, said on Monday that Ward should resign or he would move a motion to expel him. Minns stressed Ward was convicted of 'incredibly serious charges' relating to 'multiple accusers.' 'He should resign,' the premier told reporters. 'It is completely ridiculous to be in a situation where someone has been, not just accused, not just charged, but convicted of incredibly serious sexual assault convictions and stay as a member of parliament. 'You name me one workplace in the whole world where that person would continue as an employee, facing that kind of jail time.' Minns said he had sought legal advice from the NSW cabinet office and believed expulsion was an option. Sign up to Morning Mail Our Australian morning briefing breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion But it's not straightforward. The expulsion cannot be 'punitive' but must be founded on protecting the integrity of the NSW parliament. That will mean establishing that Ward's conduct brings the house into disrepute and that he cannot adequately perform his duties – which would be easier to argue if he was incarcerated. 'It seems ridiculous that he could stay as a member of parliament. Steps need to be taken,' Minns said. He said it was 'untenable' for Ward to remain the MP for Kiama. Minns does not have a majority in the Legislative Assembly so would need the opposition or crossbenchers to gain the bare majority needed to pass an expulsion motion. The opposition leader, Mark Speakman, has said he would support an expulsion motion, subject to seeing the government's legal advice. 'The jury finding is about behaviour that is sickening,' Speakman told reporters on Monday. 'He should not be in parliament; his position is untenable. There is no way he can effectively represent his constituents. He should resign, and if he doesn't, parliament must take all the steps it can to protect its integrity.' Ward could alternatively be suspended or granted leave but both options would result in the convicted rapist continuing to receive his parliamentary salary and entitlements until he resigned, the next election was held in March 2027 or all appeals were finalised. These alternatives would prevent a by-election from being held. An expulsion or suspension could be challenged in the courts. There have been only a handful of cases challenging orders of parliament but, as constitutional expert Anne Twomey has said, courts have expressed wariness when it comes to expelling MPs. The situation would be complicated further if Ward appeals. Ward has 28 days to lodge any appeal. The appeal process itself would likely be lengthy, and if Ward was expelled, he would challenge that decision in the courts. Of course, there will be practical problems for Ward continuing in parliament if he is jailed pending any appeal. He couldn't attend parliament or effectively represent his constituents.
The Age
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Age
Guilty verdict has wiped the creepy smile off Gareth Ward's face. Now he must resign
Most days for the past two months, Gareth Ward has walked into a Sydney courtroom wearing a huge smile and giving an occasional wave to the cameras. It has been a jarring and creepy display from an MP on trial for serious sexual assault offences. By last Friday, the smile had been wiped from his face after a jury found the former Liberal minister-turned independent MP indecently assaulted an 18-year-old man at his Shoalhaven home on the South Coast in 2013 three times, and had sexual intercourse without consent with a 24-year-old political staffer in Potts Point in 2015. He remains on bail until a detention application is made by prosecutors on Wednesday. The former minister for families, communities and disability services during Gladys Berejiklian's second term as premier was charged with the offences in 2022. He was suspended from parliament but returned after his astonishing re-election in the seat of Kiama at the March 2023 poll. Ward has also been caught up in all manner of other scandals, but nothing that meets the threshold of a criminal offence. Friday's guilty verdict should rid Macquarie Street of him once and for all. Ward has so far shown no interest in resigning, and parliament has limited options to force him out. Premier Chris Minns has demanded Ward resign. On Monday, Minns rightly said NSW was in a 'ridiculous' situation where someone convicted of incredibly serious sexual assault offences could remain a member of parliament. 'You name me one workplace in the world where that person would continue to be an employee facing that kind of jail time,' he said. Opposition Leader Mark Speakman also demanded Ward quit. 'There is no excuse for the criminal behaviour which the jury has found occurred beyond reasonable doubt – a complete abuse of power which has no place anywhere, let alone by those entrusted by the public to represent them.' In NSW, an MP is unable to stay in parliament if they make an allegiance to a foreign power, are declared bankrupt or are convicted of an 'infamous crime' or offence punishable by imprisonment for a term of five years or more. Ward should resign. While he may not be expelled by parliament, he will almost certainly be suspended, meaning he can't properly represent the electorate while he exhausts all legal options, including a potential appeal.
