Gareth Ward

Last updated

Gareth Ward
Shoalhaven Heads Public School cheque (cropped).jpg
Ward in 2018
Born1980or1981(age 43–44)
Port Kembla, New South Wales, Australia
Criminal statusIncarcerated pending sentence
Conviction Guilty on all counts
Criminal chargeIndecent assault (3 counts)
Sexual intercourse without consent (1 count)
Trial Downing Centre (27 May 2025–25 July 2025)
PenaltyAwaiting sentence
Details
VictimsPolitical staffer and acquaintance
Date apprehended
27 March 2022
Imprisoned at Cessnock Correctional Centre
Member of the New South Wales Parliament
for Kiama
In office
26 March 2011 –8 August 2025
Residence Meroo Meadow [1]
Education Bomaderry High School
Alma mater
Occupation
  • Lawyer
  • Politician
Website www.garethwardmp.com.au [ dead link ] Archived 20 July 2025 at the Wayback Machine

Gareth James Ward is an Australian former politician. Ward resigned from parliament in 2025 following a conviction for sexual assault. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and represented the seat of Kiama on the South Coast from 2011 to 2025, serving as New South Wales Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services in the second Berejiklian ministry from 2019 to 2021. [2] [3] . He was suspended from the New South Wales parliament in March 2022 until the end of his term in March 2023, after being charged with sexual intercourse without consent, and three counts of indecent assault. [4] He was convicted of all four counts in July 2025 and is awaiting sentence. [5]

Contents

Ward resigned from parliament on 8 August 2025 shortly before a vote on his expulsion from parliament following the guilty verdict in his trial. [6] This triggered a by-election in Kiama. [7]

Early life

Ward was born c. 1981 [8] in the Illawarra region and completed his schooling at Bomaderry High School. Ward was born with albinism and is legally blind. [9] [10] He holds degrees in commerce and arts from the University of Wollongong and Bachelor of Laws from the University of New England, and a Master of Laws from the University of Sydney. He holds a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Australian National University, and is an Admitted Solicitor in the Supreme Court of NSW and the High Court of Australia. [11] From 2001 to 2006, Ward was on the Council of the Wollongong Undergraduate Students' Association at the university, and was involved with the Australian Liberal Students Federation.

Political career

Local government

On 27 March 2004 Ward was elected to the Shoalhaven City Council as an independent councillor representing the northern parts of Shoalhaven. He was re-elected on 13 September 2008 and became deputy mayor in the same month. [12] Ward was a councillor on Shoalhaven City Council from 2004 until 2012. [13]

Liberal MP

On 12 April 2010, Ward was preselected as the Liberal candidate for Kiama. It was reported that he gained preselection in a 20–12 vote against the previous candidate, Ann Sudmalis. [14] At the 2011 state election, Ward was elected with a swing of 19.4 points and won the seat with 57.5 per cent of the vote on a two-party basis. [15] Ward's main opponent was the incumbent sitting Labor member and former Minister, Matt Brown.

In April 2015, Ward was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary for the Illawarra and South Coast after Premier Mike Baird abolished the former position of Minister for the Illawarra. [16] In March 2017, Ward was appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary for Education. [17] Ward retained his existing responsibilities as the Parliamentary Secretary for the Illawarra and South Coast. Ward served as Parliamentary Secretary for Education, in addition to his role as the Parliamentary Secretary for the Illawarra and South Coast from 2017 until 2019.

In September 2017 Ward claimed to have been the target of an attempted mugging in New York City while staying at the Intercontinental Hotel. [18] Ward claimed to have booked a male masseur for a massage, which was reported as a "special massage". In conflicting reports, it was claimed he "called a phone number provided by an acquaintance", [19] but others maintained that he ordered "the massage online from an outside service". [20] When two men turned up and announced that both of them were minors, Ward told them to leave. He then claimed the duo became aggressive and demanded US$1000 before they would leave. While luring the men down to the lobby under the guise of retrieving money from an ATM, Ward alerted hotel staff and the men fled. CCTV images were circulated but no arrests have been made. [21]

In September 2018, Ward was described in federal parliament by his fellow Liberal colleague, Ann Sudmalis, as leading a campaign of "bullying, betrayal and backstabbing" against her while she was a representative. The allegations were expanded to include branch stacking of local Liberal branches, and installing people hostile to Sudmalis on her electoral committee. She described his determination as to "annihilate anyone who opposed him" with his motivation being "Gareth's narcissistic revenge". Sudmalis went on to accuse him of misogynistic behaviour and raised several examples of where he had actively opposed and campaigned against female Liberals on the South Coast. [22]

Following the 2019 state election Ward was appointed as Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services in the Second Berejiklian ministry. [3] [23] [24]

Independent

In February 2023 he announced that he would be contesting his seat as an independent at the 2023 state election, "to stand up for the principles and values that are worth fighting for". [25]

Ward was narrowly elected as an independent in the 2023 New South Wales state election, suffering a 10.7% swing against him. [26] The NSW government decided to follow the advice of parliament's privileges and ethics committee not to extend Ward's suspension into his new term. [27]

In July 2024, Ward arrived at Parliament House at 4 am to retrieve his spare house keys after locking himself out of his apartment at Potts Point. He denied being drunk or wearing only underwear. [28] Premier Chris Minns asked for a full explanation. [29]

On 5 August 2025, Ward was granted an injunction that prevented the New South Wales Parliament from trying to expel him from the Legislative Assembly. [30] [31] The injunction order was revoked following an appeal by the state government. [32] [33]

On 8 August 2025, shortly before an expulsion vote in the Legislative Assembly, Ward resigned from his position as member for Kiama, triggering a by-election for the seat. [6]

Sexual abuse charges

On 14 May 2021 Ward resigned from his portfolio and moved to the crossbench after identifying himself as the state MP subject to an inquiry by the child abuse and sex crimes squad of the New South Wales Police Force. [34] Ward has denied the allegations. [35] [36]

On 22 March 2022 Ward was charged with three counts of indecent assault, one count of sexual intercourse without consent, and one alternate charge of common assault. He allegedly indecently assaulted an 18-year-old man at Meroo Meadow in February 2013 and sexually abused a 24-year-old man in Sydney in September 2015. Ward was granted conditional bail to appear at Port Kembla Local Court on 18 May. The then-NSW Premier, Dominic Perrottet, called for his resignation from Parliament and said that if Ward did not resign, the government would move a motion to remove him from parliament. [37] On 24 March 2022, Ward was suspended from parliament after a motion to do so was passed unanimously in the Legislative Assembly. [38] On 19 August 2022, Ward was committed to stand trial for sexual and indecent assault. [39] [40]

Trial

Ward's trial commenced in the Downing Centre District Court on 27 May 2025 before Judge Kara Shead. Ward pleaded not guilty to the three charges against him. [41] On 25 July, Ward was found guilty of sexually abusing two men after a nine-week trial. [5]

On 30 July, Ward was remanded to custody and is currently being held in the Cessnock Correctional Centre and is awaiting sentencing on 19 September. [42]

On 31 July, Ward filed defamation proceedings in the NSW District Court against radio station 2SM over comments made by broadcaster John Laws prior to his criminal trial. [43]

References

  1. ↑ "Candidates – The Legislative Assembly District of Kiama". Elections NSW. New South Wales Electoral Commission . Retrieved 3 April 2023.
  2. ↑ "Government Notices (30)" (PDF). Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales . 2 April 2019. p. 1088-1090. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  3. 1 2 Sas, Nick (31 March 2019). "Gladys Berejiklian says Liberal Party has no women problem as re-elected NSW Premier shuffles Cabinet". ABC News . Australia. Archived from the original on 2 June 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  4. ↑ Ferri, Lauren (28 March 2023). "Gareth Ward to stand trial over charges of sexual intercourse without consent, assault". news.com.au .
  5. 1 2 Fuller, Kelly (25 July 2025). "NSW MP Gareth Ward found guilty of sexually abusing two young men". ABC News . Archived from the original on 25 July 2025. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
  6. 1 2 McSweeney, Jessica (8 August 2025). "Convicted rapist Gareth Ward resigns moments before parliament expels him" . The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 8 August 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
  7. ↑ Gilbert, Romy; Fernandez, Tim (13 September 2025). "Labor win Kiama by-election as voters replace disgraced MP Gareth Ward". ABC News. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
  8. ↑ "Mr Gareth James WARD, BA, BCom, LLB, LLM, GradDipLegPrac, PHF MP". www.parliament.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  9. ↑ Ward, Gareth (3 April 2019). "You too can climb high: A message to young people just like me". The Sydney Morning Herald . Archived from the original on 6 April 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  10. ↑ Huntsdale, Justin (18 June 2015). "Albinism no barrier to success: Kiama MP Gareth Ward". ABC Illawarra. Archived from the original on 7 April 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  11. ↑ "Gareth Ward". Members. Liberal Party. 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
  12. ↑ "Clr Gareth Ward". About Councillors. Shoalhaven City Council . Retrieved 23 May 2008.
  13. ↑ "The Hon. Gareth James WARD, BA, BCom, LLB, GradDipLegPrac, JP MP". Members of the Parliament of New South Wales . Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  14. ↑ "Shoalhaven Deputy Mayor contesting state election". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 13 April 2010. Archived from the original on 18 April 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
  15. ↑ Green, Antony (5 April 2011). "Kiama". NSW Votes 2011. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
  16. ↑ McIlwain, Kate (1 April 2015). "Kiama MP Gareth Ward appointed parliamentary secretary for the Illawarra". Illawarra Mercury . Wollongong . Retrieved 18 September 2018.
  17. ↑ "Gareth Ward appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Education | News". Archived from the original on 12 June 2018.
  18. ↑ "NSW MP denies 'special' massage in New York, claims extortion bid". ABC News. 31 August 2017. Archived from the original on 25 July 2025. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
  19. ↑ "Aussie lawmaker tricked into massage scam: cops". New York Post. 30 August 2017. Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2025.
  20. ↑ "Very 'unhappy ending' for massage-seeking MP". news.com.au. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  21. ↑ Pagones, Stephanie (8 September 2017). "These 'masseurs' tried to scam a blind Australian politician". New York Post. Archived from the original on 10 July 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  22. ↑ Savage, Desiree (17 September 2018). "Watch Ann Sudmalis slam Liberal Party 'bullying, betrayal and backstabbing'". Illawarra Mercury. Archived from the original on 19 April 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  23. ↑ "Premier announces new Cabinet" (Press release). Premier of New South Wales. 31 March 2019. Archived from the original on 10 March 2020. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  24. ↑ Han, Sophie (2 April 2019). "Berejiklian's new massive cabinet sworn in amid peals of laughter". The Sydney Morning Herald . Archived from the original on 2 October 2024. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  25. ↑ Rabe, Tom (3 February 2023). "Former Liberal minister Gareth Ward to contest Kiama as independent". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 23 July 2024. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  26. ↑ "Kiama (Key Seat) – NSW Election 2023". www.abc.net.au. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 25 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  27. ↑ "NSW MP Gareth Ward will not be suspended a second time, says ethics committee". ABC News. 7 June 2023. Archived from the original on 29 July 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  28. ↑ McGowan, Michael (25 September 2024). "MP denies being drunk and in underwear outside parliament at 4am". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 12 December 2024. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  29. ↑ McGowan, Michael (26 September 2024). "'It's a workplace': Premier demands answers over MP's 4am visit to parliament in boxer shorts". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 23 November 2024. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  30. ↑ McSweeney, Jessica and Smith, Alexandra (5 August 2025). "NSW parliament seeks urgent appeal hearing to expel rapist MP Gareth Ward" . The Sydney Morning Herald . Archived from the original on 5 August 2025. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  31. ↑ Fuller, Kelly (5 August 2025). "Premier Chris Minns condemns Gareth Ward's court bid to block expulsion". ABC News . Archived from the original on 5 August 2025. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  32. ↑ Lewis, Alexander (7 August 2025). "Convicted sex offender MP Gareth Ward loses bid to stop NSW parliament expulsion". ABC News. Archived from the original on 7 August 2025. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  33. ↑ McSweeney, Jessica (7 August 2025). "Parliament set to expel Gareth Ward after legal challenge fails" . The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 7 August 2025. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  34. ↑ "Gareth Ward: NSW prosecutor to consider sexual violence claims against Kiama MP". The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 July 2021. Archived from the original on 17 July 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  35. ↑ Smith, Alexandra; Rabe, Tom (13 May 2021). "NSW Minister Gareth Ward investigated by NSW Police over sexual violence allegations". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 16 June 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  36. ↑ Smith, Alexandra; Rabe, Tom (17 May 2021). "Liberal MPs will wait for byelection before counselling Gareth Ward on political future". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 24 December 2024. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  37. ↑ Cormack, Lucy (22 March 2022). "Gareth Ward charged over historical allegations of sexual assault". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  38. ↑ Raper, Ashleigh (24 March 2022). "NSW MP Gareth Ward suspended from parliament over historic sexual abuse charges". ABC News. Archived from the original on 25 March 2022. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  39. ↑ Ferri, Lauren (22 April 2024). "Former NSW minister Gareth Ward slams cops after new sexual assault trial date". news.com.au. Archived from the original on 7 August 2025. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  40. ↑ McPhee, Sarah (19 August 2022). "NSW MP Gareth Ward to face trial on sexual and indecent assault charges". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
  41. ↑ Beazley, Jordyn (27 May 2025). "NSW MP Gareth Ward allegedly raped political staffer after Parliament House event, trial hears". The Guardian . Archived from the original on 19 July 2025. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  42. ↑ Fuller, Kelly; Gilbert, Romy (30 July 2025). "NSW MP Gareth Ward jailed ahead of sentencing". ABC News. Archived from the original on 5 August 2025. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  43. ↑ McSweeney, Jessica and Whitbourn, Michaela (31 July 2025). "Convicted rapist Gareth Ward weighing defamation options, court told" . The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 31 July 2025. Retrieved 5 August 2025.

Further reading

New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Preceded by Member for Kiama
2011–2025		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded byas Minister for Family and Community Services Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services
2019–2021		Succeeded by
Preceded byas Minister for Disability Services
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