Gareth Ward tells constituent to ‘put a paper bag over his head’

Kiama MP Gareth Ward has taken hundreds of Covid questions from residents, but some of his responses have raised an eyebrow.

What started as a light hearted message from a South Coast man, ended in Kiama MP Gareth Ward telling a constituent to “put a paper bag” over his head and do us a “favour”.

However, Mr Ward assures it was light humour, and he was not telling anyone to kill themselves.

“I was telling him to go put a bag over his head, not telling him to kill himself. I wouldn’t say that, I’m not a maniac,” he said.

“When someone is taking up your time with silly remarks, you can’t use that time to help people with genuine concerns.”

Kiama MP Gareth Ward said he wasn’t telling the constituent to kill themselves. Picture: AAP Image/Joel Carrett

It comes after Mr Ward posted his personal mobile number to Facebook, asking his community to message him if they had any concerns or questions about the public health orders.

A resident asked Mr Ward about getting a custom made mask for a “pelican named Gladys at Greenwell Point”, who “wants to be in my single bubble”.

Mr Ward replied, saying “Put a paper bag over your own head and do the bird – and the rest of us – a favour! All covered!”.

The person never responded.

However, Mr Ward said he doesn’t regret publishing his personal contact details, and out of 500 calls and more than a thousand text messages, just two have been jovial.

He urged other members of parliament to do the same, instead of “hiding away in their ivory towers”.

Gareth Ward posted the text exchange to his Facebook page. Picture: supplied

“I will do anything to look after my local community, and given there is so much confusion … I think it’s important for MPs to remain accessible to people,” he said.

“At a time like this when people are scared and anxious, to have a familiar voice on the phone, it’s good for peoples’ mental health and peace of mind.”

Having just a few hours sleep on Monday night, the often controversial MP said he was still responding to messages at 12:30am, before waking well before dawn to send a media release by 5:47am and talk on breakfast radio.

Among the main concerns raised with him were the 5 kilometre radius rules, the single bubble, partner visits and rules around caring for vulnerable people.

“A lot of the concerns are around confusion. The phones have not stopped ringing today,” Mr Ward said on Tuesday evening.

“Given this time, and given the fact the rest of this community was in lockdown the best thing I could do was dedicate my time to them.”

He said communities should not be locked down for a “ one day longer than absolutely necessary.”

Mr Ward isn’t one to shy away from public controversy, having been called out by former Gilmore MP and fellow Liberal member, Ann Sudmalis in a speech to parliament in 2018.

The same MP is currently under investigation by NSW Police over unrelated allegations dating back to 2013. No charges have been laid.

Mr Ward was first elected to state parliament a decade ago, and was promoted to Minister by NSW Premier Glady Berejiklian in 2019.

He stood down from cabinet after news of the alleged sexual violence-related offences was levelled against him.