New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet has said he is trying to oust independent Gareth Ward from the state legislature after being accused of sexually abusing a 17-year-old boy.
More than 10 months after Ward stepped down as minister after revealing that he was the subject of a police investigation, police on Tuesday charged Kiama deputies after a lengthy investigation.
Ward was charged with three counts of assault with acts of injustice, and one count each of conspiracy to commit sexual assault without consent. The charges relate to two alleged incidents involving a 27-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy.
In a statement, Ward denied the allegations and said he was looking forward to proving his innocence in court.
The Prime Minister’s intervention comes at a weak position for the government, which is currently in the minority but has benefited from Ward’s vote since he moved to the crusade.
Despite keeping Kiama’s seat with a margin of more than 10%, Ward’s resignation would force the government to run for re-election, just months after the coalition was beaten by a series of votes that saw it Losing seat from Bega to Labor.
But despite the risk to the government’s numbers, Perrottet immediately called for his resignation on Tuesday, saying he would move a motion to make his award if deputies did not resign voluntarily.
“While Mr. Ward is entitled to the presumption of innocence, as any citizen is, the standards expected of an elected member of Parliament are not compatible with the seriousness of the charges against him,” Perrottet said. in a statement.
“After discussions with the acting Prime Minister, I therefore tried to contact Kiama MPs to seek his resignation from Parliament with immediate effect.
“Should Mr Ward not resign, the government will move a motion to remove him from Parliament.”
It is understood that until Tuesday afternoon the government was still unable to contact Ward, and it remained unclear whether an expulsion motion would be moved this week.
Perrottet also wrote to the director general of the Liberal Party to suspend Ward from the party pending the outcome of the trial.
“Mr Ward is entitled to defend himself against the serious charges against him, but he must do so as a private citizen,” he said.
Police said on Tuesday they would allege that Ward indecently assaulted a 17-year-old boy in Meroo Meadow in February 2013 and sexually abused a 27-year-old man in Sydney in September two years later.
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An NSW police spokesman said he was charged after an investigation “into the historical alleged sexual abuse of a man and a teenage boy”.
“In May 2021, detectives … set up the Strike Force Condello to investigate allegations of sexual violence-related offenses.
“After extensive investigations, a 40-year-old man was visiting the Oak Flats Police Station at noon [on Tuesday]”.
In a statement, Ward denied the allegations.
“I am completely innocent of the charges against me. “I will instruct my lawyers to try to bring this matter to court as soon as possible and I look forward to proving my innocence there,” he said.
“While others have already tried to pursue my case in the media rather than in the courts, out of respect for our justice system, I will not do the same.”
Ward, a key ally of former Prime Minister Gladys Berejiklian, survived the call by some in the government to resign from parliament when the inquiry first became public in May last year.
He said at the time that he had not been contacted by police and denied any abuse.
Together with Drummoyne MP John Sidoti, he is one of two former government ministers who moved to the crusade during the term, but voted with the coalition across 23 divisions during that period.
He has also remained active in both Parliament and the Kiama community. Only two weeks ago, he announced that he was “leading a delegation” to meet with Planning Secretary Anthony Roberts about proposed planning changes to voters.
In Parliament on Tuesday, Labor asked Education Minister Sarah Mitchell a number of questions about Ward’s visits to local schools as deputies, including whether restrictions were placed on deputies who visit schools during the police investigation. She took note of the questions.
Opposition leader Chris Minns said Labor members would support Perrottet’s motion if Ward refused to stop.
The ward has been given conditional bail and will appear before Port Kembla local court in May.
He did not say in a statement whether he was trying to stay in parliament while he was fighting charges.
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