Will re-elected Kiama MP Gareth Ward be able to sit in NSW Parliament

Former Liberal Minister Gareth Ward is predicted to be the newly installed Member for Kiama.

ABC’s Election Analyst Antony Green has predicted Gareth Ward has an unassailable lead over Labor’s Katelin McInerney.

Mr Ward, who ran as an Independent in Kiama, is currently facing sexual assault charges and is due to appear in Downing Local Court next week.

The Member for Kiama was suspended from NSW Parliament in March 2022.  With the Perrottet Government moving a motion to suspend Mr Ward after he refused to resign. The motion passed the lower house without any opposition.

Questions now remain – will a newly elected Minns government allow Gareth Ward back into NSW Parliament?  

Professor Anne Twomey AO is an Australian academic and lawyer specialising in Australian Constitutional law.  Professor Twomey, who advised the NSW government on Gareth Ward’s suspension last year, told Melinda James its a complex decision with only one other member suspended from NSW parliament, back in 1906 

Broadcast 8h ago8 hours agoTue 28 Mar 2023 at 8:35pm

Kiama, State and Territory Elections, State and Territory Parliament, Constitution