MP denies being drunk and in underwear outside parliament at 4am

NSW MP Gareth Ward has denied being drunk when he showed up at Parliament House at 4am on a Sunday morning in July, saying he had locked himself out of his apartment in the early hours of the morning and had come to the building to get a spare pair of keys.

On Wednesday, The Daily Telegraph reported on the existence of a parliamentary security report which alleged Ward, the independent Kiama MP, had arrived at parliament early on July 21 wearing a “T-shirt, underwear and socks” and had a gash on his head.

Gareth Ward has denied being drunk and in his underwear when he showed up at parliament in the early hours of the morning in July.Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald

The Sydney Morning Herald has not seen a copy of the report, but has confirmed its existence.

But Ward, who will next year face court over a series of alleged sexual abuse offences dating back several years, insists that he was not drunk, and said the characterisation of his state of undress was not correct.

Instead, he said he went to parliament after being woken by a noise in the middle of the night and locking himself out of his Potts Point apartment.

“Having been awoken and responding to a noise at the rear of my apartment, I locked myself out of my property in the early hours of 21 July,” he said in a statement.

“Given it was freezing at around 4am in July, with no prospect of getting a locksmith, not having my phone and with my property around eight minutes walk/jog to parliament, I went to parliament to get my spare key.

“I did not see anyone in parliament other than a security guard who gave me access to the building.”

Ward denied he was drunk. “This is this sort of gutter journalism that sees faith in some journalists fall to an all-time low,” he said.

A former minister in the Berejiklian government, Ward moved to the crossbench and was later suspended from parliament after being charged with a series of historical sex offences dating back several years. He categorically denies the charges and is defending them.

He was re-elected as an independent in his South Coast seat in 2023 and returned to parliament. His trial is due to begin next year.

In 2020 Ward, then the minister for families and communities, had to be escorted home by police twice after he was found sleepwalking following surgery.

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