Convicted Rapist Gareth Ward Resigns Minutes Before Parliament Expels Him
Image: Bianca De Marchi / AAP
Convicted rapist Gareth Ward has resigned from NSW parliament less than two hours before his former colleagues were set to expel him.
In doing so, he has lost his taxpayer-funded salary and triggered a byelection for the seat of Kiama.
Parliament was scheduled to vote on his expulsion at 10.30 on Friday morning, with Speaker Greg Piper receiving Ward’s letter of resignation at 9.08am.
The Independent member for Kiama and former Liberal minister was last week found guilty of three counts of indecent assault and one count of sexual intercourse without consent. The charges stem from separate incidents involving an 18 year old in 2013 and a 24 year old in 2015.
His conviction of indecent assault carries a maximum penalty of five years in jail, while the rape conviction carries a maximum penalty of 14 years.
On Tuesday, Ward attempted to block parliament from voting to expel him by seeking an injunction from the Supreme Court, though the NSW Court of Appeal rejected it on Thursday, with Chief Justice Andrew Bell saying the Kiama electorate would be “re-enfranchised” by holding a byelection.
Relief and condemnation from MPs
Premier Chris Minns said that the resignation “should have come earlier”.
“A lot of time, effort and energy was spent in the NSW supreme court proving what most people who live in this state would have known instinctively. And that is, if you are convicted of some of the most serious charges – sexual assault in NSW – you can’t sit as a serving member of parliament drawing a parliamentary salary,” he told media on Friday..
Opposition leader Mark Speakman said Ward had done “what he should have done long ago”, but criticised his last minute resignation.
“It should have never come to this,” he said on Friday morning.
“The people of Kiama have been left without a voice for too long, and taxpayers have been forced to foot the bill while this circus dragged on. Public office is a privilege, not a personal fiefdom, and when that trust is broken the right thing is to go immediately.
“He has already been convicted of serious, very serious, sexual offences, and I think every member of this chamber’s heart would go out to the victim survivors of those offences, who, no doubt, continue to be traumatised and retraumatised by the cat and mouse game that has gone on in the past fortnight.”
Ward’s sentencing is currently scheduled for 19 September, and he remains on remand in Silverwater prison.
