Politician battling charges ‘he sexually assaulted a man, 27, and assaulted a boy, 17’ appears to lose seat after mass swing
- NSW MP Gareth Ward is contesting sexual charges
- He ran as a self-employed person in Kiama
- According to forecasts, he lost to Kate McInerney of Labour
A former Liberal state minister suspended from parliament for challenging sexual charges appears to have been ousted in Saturday’s election.
Kiama’s member Gareth Ward ran as an independent and was the front runner in his NSW South Coast electorate, with TAB earning him a $1.35 chance.
Labour’s Katelin McInerney, who had a longer quote at $5.50, looks set to be elected after a 14 percent swing to Labor, according to early forecasts.
The Liberals’ Melanie Gibbons, who had a $5 quote, is behind the Greens’ Tonia Gray.
She was dropped in the seat after losing a local Liberal Party pre-selection for the seat of Holsworthy, 100 km away, where she was the local MP.
Mr Ward was suspended from the Legislative Assembly in March last year after being charged with three counts of indecent assault, one count of unauthorized sexual intercourse and one count of common assault.
Labour’s Kate McInerney has caused a stir after collecting a massive 14 per cent swing in Kiama for Labor (pictured while campaigning with Anthony Albanese)
Kiama’s member Gareth Ward is the front-runner in his NSW south coast electorate, with Sportsbet giving him the narrowest $1.35 chance (he’s pictured left with former Prime Minister Gladys Berejiklian)
He had resigned from the Liberal party in May 2021 after being part of the moderate faction.
The former Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Care is contesting all police charges alleging he indecently assaulted a 17-year-old boy at Meroo Meadow in 2013 and sexually assaulted a 27-year-old man in Sydney in 2015.
The case remains in court and Mr Ward said he is entitled to the presumption of innocence.
Betting firms predict the Labor opposition will take the Liberal Party’s East Hills, Parramatta, Penrith and Riverstone Sydney seats, plus Heathcote’s imaginary Labor voters.
That would leave Labor leader Chris Minns with 42 seats – five short of the necessary 47 needed for a majority in the 93-member lower house, as the coalition is left with 41 seats.
Mr Ward was suspended from the Legislative Assembly in March last year after being charged with three counts of indecent assault, one count of unauthorized sexual intercourse and one count of common assault (he is pictured during Question Time in 2020)
Both Mr Minns and Liberal Prime Minister Dominic Perrottet have vowed to refrain from seeking support from Mr Ward to help form a minority government.
This would make three Green MPs the decision makers, along with former same-sex marriage campaigner Alex Greenwich, regional independents Greg Piper and Joe McGirr, and former Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party members Helen Dalton, Phil Donato and Roy Butler.
Labor goes into the election with 36 seats it already holds, but two more with redistributions, including the new seat of Leppington and the fictional Labor voters of Heathcote, bringing the existing number to 38.
The coalition starts with 44 seats, following an unfavorable redistribution in Heathcote, an interim loss to Labor in Bega and the loss of two Liberal MPs to the crossbench over a scandal since the 2019 election.
By comparison, Melanie Gibbons, Mr Ward’s Liberal rival, has a $5 longer chance. She was parachuted into the seat after losing a local Liberal party pre-selection for the seat of Holsworthy, 100 miles away , where she was the local Member of Parliament.