Gareth Ward fighting for his political career as cloud hangs over his head

Extremely confident, Gareth Ward chats affably with the a group of ladies surrounding him for a photograph, yet they all know the man is under a cloud as he heads into his biggest election battle yet.

Gareth Ward arrives at the Nowra Golf Club to meet a delegation of ladies from the local Meals on Wheels who’ve just been awarded the use of the club’s kitchen facilities.

A big man, the independent Member for Kiama wears a pressed suit and tie and is particularly proud of his gold parliamentary member’s lapel badge, pointing out it’s the ‘earlier one, not the later great big version…’

Extremely confident, Ward chats affably with the ladies surrounding him for a photograph, yet they all know the man is under a cloud - charged with a string of grim historical sexual offences from which he is now locked in a battle to clear his name.

Ward is a visually striking figure - born with oculocutaneous albinism his hair is a shock of white, his skin pale to the point of being almost translucent, his irises a steel grey - he is legally blind and has been driven to today’s event where to simply read a text message requires him to press his phone against his eye.

He said his blindness is simply another obstacle of which he’s overcome, showing pride at being the first Disability Minister in Australia to actually have a disability.

Kiama MP Gareth Ward isn’t going to go down without a fight. Picture: Jonathan Ng

A one-time confidant and member of Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s inner circle, the 42-year-old once held considerable sway within the NSW Liberals, able to secure and complete enormous capital works programs for the Kiama electorate, including expressway bypasses and funding for schools.

Despite his popularity in the area, Ward is a divisive and controversial figure.

In recent years a series of controversies have plagued Ward’s career, stemming from a bizarre 2017 attempted extortion bid in his New York Hotel room involving two male ‘masseurs’ who demanded $1000 after announcing themselves as minors.

Fearing for his safety Ward fled to the hotel lobby alerting hotel staff and the men fled - no arrests were made.

In 2021 Ward was accused of serious historical sexual offences - indecently assaulting a 17-year-old-boy and sexually abusing a 27 year-old man - the ensuing police investigation seeing him voluntarily stand aside as Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services, followed by his expulsion from the Liberal Party and his suspension from parliament.

Gareth Ward said the easy option would be to walk away from politics. Picture: Jonathan Ng

While Ward has vehemently denied the charges (he is convinced the allegations are politically motivated and maintains he knows who is behind them ) in February this year the former Liberal MP made the bold announcement he intended to recontest his seat as an independent. “It would be easy to walk away but I’ve grown up here - the community has been good to me and the voters get it right” he told me.

But while a threat from Premier Dominic Perrottet’s to ‘remove’ Ward from parliament lost traction, in the maelstrom of pre-election promises an unlikely alliance between the Premier and Opposition Leader Chris Minns materialised, both agreeing to ban Ward from setting foot in parliament should he win his seat.

The implications of banning from parliament an MP lawfully elected by their constituents clearly strikes a nerve the Kiama MP.

“I’m absolutely wild that both sides of parliament can tell people who they can or can’t vote for? There is absolutely no constitutional precedent for this. How dare they? They don’t get to decide - the people do!’”

Kiama locals I spoke to on the street were quietly supportive of their local member. An elderly female chaplain who works with vulnerable residents described Ward as “very aware and empathetic” while a young female shop worker who lost her house through a development process talked about how he “was with us through the whole process. He’ll help people with whatever you need…”

Constitutional lawyer Professor Anne Twomey said if the electorate chose to elect Ward while fully aware of the charges made against him, then a ban from parliament could be difficult to uphold.