NSW MP Gareth Ward Allegedly Raped Staffer After Parliament Event

A court has heard how independent New South Wales MP Gareth Ward raped a political staffer in his Potts Point apartment following an event at NSW Parliament, and indecently assaulted an 18-year-old multiple times.

43-year-old Ward is currently facing a four-week trial at Sydney’s Downing Centre, with proceedings beginning yesterday.

The member of Kiama is accused of one count of sexual assault against a then-24 year old in 2015, and three counts of indecent assault against an 18-year-old in February 2013.

Ward has pleaded not guilty to each of the charges, with his defence lawyers expected to give their opening arguments today.

On Tuesday, crown prosecutor Monika Knowles told the jury she would argue that in both instances, Ward was either reckless to the complainant’s consent or failed to consider whether they consented or not. She will also argue Ward knew the 24-year-old staffer did not consent because he did not have “reasonable grounds” to believe he did.

The identities of both victim-survivors are protected under a non-publication order.

Knowles told the court Ward met the younger man at a business event in Bomaderry in December 2012, after which the alleged victim believed they were friends and joined the Young Liberals.

On the night of the alleged assault in February 2013, the court heard how the pair ran into each other while the alleged victim was on his way to a party in Nowra, with Ward mentioning he may invite friends to his house later that night.

After a phone conversation later that night, the complainant left the party for Ward’s house, only to realise when he arrived that no one else was there.

The pair drank alcohol, with the younger man pretending to pass out on the grass, “playing a joke”, while Ward was inside. When he returned, Ward slid his hands into the man’s shorts and rubbed his buttocks.

The alleged victim froze in shock, before pretending he had been unconscious, with Knowles saying he “played as though he had just woken up and was unaware he had been touched”.

When the young man wanted to go to bed, Ward told him it would be “unsafe” to sleep along, and took him to his own bed. He then “mounted” the 18-year-old, putting his groin on the younger man’s buttocks and massaging him.

The pair maintained a social and professional relationship until the complainant cut contact in 2020.

Second assault occurred two years later

The offence against the second complainant took place in 2015, when the then-24-year-old political staffer  was working for another MP. Ward invited him to his house in Potts Point after an event at Parliament House because the staffer lived a “fair way away” and wanted to save him the “long journey”.

The complainant alleges that Ward tried to kiss him when they arrived at his home,

The staffer alleges he was trying to sleep in bed when ward returned to the room and “tried to put his arm” over him, with the complainant repeatedly “moving away”.

Ward is then alleged to have put his hands in the younger man’s shorts and digitally penetrated him, not responding to requests to stop.

Ward was elected as the Liberal MP for Kiama in 2011, before being suspended from the party in 2022 following sexual abuse allegations. He was re-elected as an independent in 2023 and remains the current MP for Kiama.

You are not alone. If you or someone you know has experienced sexual or family violence and needs support, you can contact:

• 1800RESPECT: 1800 737 732
• Lifeline: 13 11 14
• LGBTQ+ Rainbow Sexual, Domestic & Family Violence Service Help Line: 1800 385 578
• NSW Mental Health Access Line: 1800 011 511
• Alan Beyond Blue: 1300 224 636
• Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467
• Mensline 1300789978
• Alcohol and Drug Information Service: 1800 250 015
• QLife (3pm to midnight): 1800 184 527
• 13YARN (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander line) – 13 92 76