EXCLUSIVE
A former NSW Liberal Party MP accused of rape and sexual assault has denied actively campaigning for a Sydney candidate who was being investigated over child abuse allegations.
Former Liberal and now independent MP Gareth Ward has criticised the recurrent claim that he called the party’s state council to ensure his former colleague Rory Amon was the only candidate for the seat of Pittwater ahead of the March 2023 election.
On Friday, Amon stepped down as a politician in the Northern Beaches after he was charged with ten sex offences involving a boy he knew from Mona Vale in 2017.
Allegations that Ward – who was separately charged in 2022 with five counts of sexual abuse – actively supported Amon were reported in Nine Newspapers in 2022. They reappeared in print this weekend and on 2GB on Monday morning.
Radio presenter Ben Fordham said: ‘The Herald reports that former Liberal MP Gareth Ward has called on people within the party to support Rory Amon in his primary.’
Ward told Daily Mail Australia he was unaware of the “tasteless” claims at the time, but he strongly denies them and plans to take legal action.
By the time Amon indicated he would run for the seat of Pittwater after September 2022, Ward had left NSW Liberal and joined the independent party amid outrage over his sexual assault allegations. He has pleaded not guilty.
“This claim is nonsense. It is simply a smear campaign. I am seeking legal advice,” he said.
Rory Amon (pictured) was asked to resign from the NSW Liberal Party on Friday after facing 10 child sex charges
Independent MP Gareth Ward (pictured) has denied helping Amon in the primary for the seat of Pittwater
Amon has indicated that he plans to run for the pre-selections when former state MP Robert Stokes announced his retirement in 2022, even though Mr Stokes and NSW Prime Minister Dominic Perrottet wanted a woman to run for the seat.
NSW Police investigated the child sex claims against Amon for two years. He was investigated when he was nominated for preselection.
On Monday, Fordham spoke to Kyle Kutasi, a defunct NSW Liberal Party member, who said: ‘There was a very funny process that took place with that pre-selection to make sure that [Amon] was the only candidate.’
‘We haven’t had a single candidate in a marginal seat for six months.
‘We kept hearing that the nominations had to be reopened because the prime minister wanted a female candidate, but when we asked who that was, we never got an answer.’
Mr Kutasi told Daily Mail Australia he was not aware of any involvement by Ward in the situation, but he reiterated his claims that the Liberal Party wanted Amon to be the sole candidate.
He said there were originally three candidates: one dropped out, another forgot to renew his membership and a third withdrew.
“Every meeting we didn’t have a candidate and they blocked it. It was never explained,” he said.
Former NSW Liberal MP Rory Amon was pictured reporting for bail in Dee Why on Sunday
Amon (pictured with his bail documents) was charged in 2017 with attacking a teenage boy he knew in Mona Vale
A NSW Liberal Party spokesman denied he was aware of the charges against Amon before Friday, when he was arrested and charged.
They also denied that there was any “conspiracy” surrounding Amon’s primary, saying he was the only candidate because he was the only one who nominated himself in time.
The NSW Liberals came under fire in August when it emerged they had failed to field around 150 candidates for the Electoral Commission before the deadline.
Amon’s application was one of 300 filed on time, but he did comply with the request Friday to return his seat following the charges.
The charges involve five counts of sexual intercourse with a person between the ages of 10 and 14, and two counts of attempted sexual intercourse with a child between the ages of 10 and 14.
There were also two charges of indecent assault on a person under 16 and committing an act of indecent assault on a person under 16.
Pictured: Kyle Kutasi, who claimed the NSW Liberal Party ensured Amon was the only candidate for Pittwater
His lawyers attempted to ban the media from identifying him and reporting the allegations, but the application was withdrawn and dismissed by the District Court in Manly.
He subsequently declared his innocence in a statement.
“I deny all allegations and will plead my case in the courts, not in the media. Therefore, I will not comment further on the case,” he said.
‘The nature of the charges against me is such that I can no longer fully represent my community in Parliament.
‘I have therefore tendered my resignation as Member for Pittwater with immediate effect.’
On Sunday he reported to Dee Why police station for bail, just before the 8pm deadline – with his bail papers in his hand and apparently sporting a new haircut.
His case will return to court on August 30.