Uncertain future for NSW Kiama MP Gareth Ward after being found guilty of abusing two men

Kiama MP Gareth Ward is being urged to leave parliament after he was found guilty of sexually abusing two young men.

Former NSW minister and Kiama MP Gareth Ward faces an uncertain future in parliament after being found guilty of sexually abusing two young men.

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 Ward guilty of a fourth offence of intercourse without consent against a 24-year-old man in Potts Point in 2015.

Ward, who was first elected to the seat of Kiama in 2011, now faces an uncertain future in parliament.

Liberal Party leader Mark Speakman is calling for Ward to leave parliament.

“The Member for Kiama must resign from Parliament. If Mr Ward does not resign, then upon its resumption the Parliament should swiftly take all appropriate steps to protect its integrity,” Mr Speakman said.

A spokesperson for the NSW Government said on Friday afternoon their thoughts were with the victim-survivors “whose strength and courage in coming forward must be recognised and respected”.

Former NSW minister and Kiama MP Gareth Ward has been found guilty of sexually abusing two young men. Picture: NewsWire / John Appleyard

They said: “We acknowledge the importance of the justice system - it has delivered a clear and decisive outcome.

“Mr Ward’s position in the Parliament is no longer tenable, and as such we call on him to resign immediately.

“Should Mr Ward refuse to resign, the Government will take steps to protect the Legislative Assembly’s integrity.”

Under a memorandum provided to the Premier and cabinet in 2022, an MP only faces expulsion if they are found by the House to be “guilty of conduct unworthy of a member of parliament”.

“The expulsion of a member from the Legislative Assembly does not preclude the expelled member from recontesting his or her former seat at the resultant by-election,” the report by then Deputy Secretary of General Counsel Kate Boyd stated.

“A person who has been convicted for an offence and is serving a sentence of imprisonment for 12 months or more is not so entitled” under the Electoral Act 2017.

An MP who is convicted of an “infamous crime”, or an offence punishable by imprisonment for life or for a term of five years or more, would vacate their seat under the Constitution Act 1902, according to the report.

Under the Act, an MP may also delay their expulsion if an appeal has been lodged.

“This provision does not affect the power of the House to expel a Member: Constitution Act 1902 s. 13A (3),” the report said.

Ward has held the seat of Kiama on the NSW south coast since 2011. Picture: NewsWire / John Appleyard

The report was prepared in relation to Ward’s matters and was to provide the then Acting Premier “on certain legal risks associated with the expulsion, or alternatively, the suspension of a member of the Legislative Assembly, in circumstances where the member has been charged with a serious criminal offence and is awaiting trial”.

Since his arrest three years ago, Ward denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty to all counts.

In Western Australia, former MP James Hayward was automatically removed from parliament after he was convicted of sexually abusing a young girl the year he sought election to the state’s upper house.

Ward first entered politics on the Shoalhaven City Council in 2004.

He was appointed Families Minister following the 2019 state election, when still with the Liberal Party.

In 2023, he contested the seat of Kiama as an independent and had been suspended in March 2022 until the end of that term in March 2023 after he was charged by police.

Originally published as Uncertain future for NSW Kiama MP Gareth Ward after being found guilty of abusing two men