Moves are afoot to expel the MP for Kiama, Gareth Ward, from the New South Wales parliament after he was convicted of serious sexual offences involving two young men.
State parliament sits next week and Ward has not yet said whether he intends to appeal Friday’s convictions. The MP has also not indicated whether he might resign from parliament and did not respond to questions from Guardian Australia.
Ward was granted bail ahead of a hearing on Wednesday, when the prosecution will seek to have him taken into custody ahead of his sentencing. A date for that is due to be set on Wednesday.
The 44-year-old stood trial in the NSW district court after pleading not guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and indecent assault charges.
Several politicians have been convicted of “an infamous crime” or a crime that carries a sentence of five years or more – which is the threshold that disqualifies a person from sitting in the NSW parliament.
Most have chosen to resign when they have been charged and were well out of parliament by the time they were convicted.
So the question of how lodging an appeal – or winning an appeal – might affect an MP’s right to sit in the parliament has rarely arisen.
Will Gareth Ward resign?
Both major parties are hoping that Ward will choose to resign from parliament and the matter is resolved quickly. But Ward has, to date, shown little inclination to end his own political career.
In 2021, Ward left the Liberal party and moved to the crossbench after identifying himself as the state MP under investigation by the child abuse and sex crimes squad of the NSW police force.
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When charges were laid in March 2022, the then NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet, called for his resignation. On 24 March 2022, Ward was suspended after a motion unanimously passed the Legislative Assembly. In mid-August 2022, Ward was committed to stand trial.
But Ward’s voters in the south coast state seat of Kiama re-elected him in March 2023 and he returned to Macquarie Street.
What’s next? Suspension or expulsion?
The Minns government believes Ward should not sit in parliament now that he is convicted of serious crimes, and that sentiment is echoed by the opposition.
The premier, Chris Minns, said on Monday that Ward should resign or he would move a motion to expel him.
Minns stressed Ward was convicted of “incredibly serious charges” relating to “multiple accusers”.
“He should resign,” the premier told reporters. “It is completely ridiculous to be in a situation where someone has been, not just accused, not just charged, but convicted of incredibly serious sexual assault convictions and [stays] as a member of parliament.
“You name me one workplace in the whole world where that person would continue as an employee, facing that kind of jail time.”
Minns said he had sought legal advice from the NSW Cabinet Office and believed expulsion was an option.
But it’s not straightforward. The expulsion cannot be “punitive” but must be founded on protecting the integrity of the NSW parliament.
That will mean establishing that Ward’s conduct brings the house into disrepute and that he cannot adequately perform his duties – which would be easier to argue if he was incarcerated.
“It seems ridiculous that he could stay as a member of parliament. Steps need to be taken,” Minns said. He said it was “untenable” for Ward to remain the MP for Kiama.
Minns does not have a majority in the Legislative Assembly so would need the opposition or crossbenchers to gain the bare majority needed to pass an expulsion motion.
The opposition leader, Mark Speakman, has said he would support an expulsion motion, subject to seeing the government’s legal advice.
“The jury finding is about behaviour that is sickening,” Speakman told reporters on Monday.
“He should not be in parliament; his position is untenable. There is no way he can effectively represent his constituents. He should resign, and if he doesn’t, parliament must take all the steps it can to protect its integrity.”
Ward could alternatively be suspended or granted leave but both options would result in the convicted rapist continuing to receive his parliamentary salary and entitlements until he resigned, the next election was held in March 2027 or all appeals were finalised. These alternatives would prevent a byelection from being held.
An expulsion or suspension could be challenged in the courts. There have been only a handful of cases challenging orders of parliament but, as constitutional expert Anne Twomey has said, courts have expressed wariness when it comes to expelling MPs.
The situation would be complicated further if Ward appeals.
Effects of an appeal
Ward has 28 days to lodge any appeal. The appeal process itself would probably be lengthy, and if Ward was expelled, he would challenge that decision in the courts.
Of course, there will be practical problems for Ward continuing in parliament if he is jailed pending any appeal. He couldn’t attend parliament or effectively represent his constituents.
