National Party eyes Kiama seat setting the scene for an internal Coalition war

With disgraced NSW MP Gareth Ward facing expulsion from the parliament next week, a political war is brewing between Coalition partners as Nationals eye off the former Liberal seat of Kiama.

Pictured is Kiama MP Gareth Ward leaving his Potts Point apartment. Picture: Richard Dobson

As disgraced NSW MP Gareth Ward faces expulsion from the parliament next week, political games are already afoot for who will run in a potential by-election for his south coast seat of Kiama.

National Party MPs are already making moves on the marginal seat, setting up the possibility of a vicious three-way contest with Labor and their Coalition partners.

Ward will face expulsion from the parliament after being found guilty by a 12-person jury on Friday of four offences relating to the sexual abuse of two young men.

Pictured leaving his apartment in Potts Point is Kiama MP Gareth Ward who faces expulsion from parliament next week. Picture: Richard Dobson

The former families minister under the Coalition government resigned from the Liberal Party in 2021 after it was revealed he was the subject of a police investigation, but continued his political career as an independent. Voters returned him to his seat of Kiama even after he was charged by police with three counts of indecent assault and one count of sexual intercourse without consent.

While Liberal powerbrokers are already in conversations over who will run in a potential by-election, a Nationals contest could risk splitting the conservative vote in favour of Labor, who only lost the seat in 2023 by 689 votes.

Nationals MP Wes Fang travelled to Kiama on Wednesday to secure support for a potential play by the regional party.

Nationals MP Wes Fang visited Kiama on Wednesday to see if there is support for Nationals to run for the former Liberal seat. Picture: NewsWire / Simon Bullard.

Mr Fang said the Coalition couldn’t afford another loss due to backlash from scandal-plagued MPs. He pointed to the Liberal’s loss of Pittwater after MP Rory Amon resigned following child sexual abuse charges. In 2018, the regional seat of Wagga Wagga was lost to independent Joe McGirr after a series of corruption scandals involving former Liberal MP Daryl Maguire.

“We can’t afford to have another Pittwater or Wagga Wagga by-election result where the Coalition doesn’t win,” Mr Fang said.

“We need to have a serious conversation between the Liberal Party and Nationals about who is the best candidate to run in a potential by-election.

“Sometimes the Liberal Party aren’t great at acknowledging that they are not always well placed to represent regional communities and then they end up losing them in by-elections.”

Premier Chris Minns said on Monday Labor were still undecided if they would run for the seat in a by-election. Picture: NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

Other Nationals MPs also felt the party might have a better chance at winning the seat than their Liberal counterparts after Mr Ward’s fall from grace.

Premier Chris Minns said on Monday Labor had yet to decide whether it would run a candidate.

“I don’t know … we’d have to think about it,” the Premier said.