Convicted rapist Gareth Ward has resigned as a New South Wales MP just moments before the parliament was due to expel him.
The resignation automatically vacates his south coast seat and there will be a byelection. The seat was held by Ward for the Liberal party from 2011 until he was expelled from the party. He subsequently ran as an independent and was re-elected in 2023.
Ward was found guilty in July of sexually abusing two young men in 2013 and 2015. He is appealing against his convictions, which include three counts of indecent assault and one for sexual intercourse without consent. He is due to be sentenced next month.
The resignation marks the end of a difficult chapter for the NSW parliament. It had suspended Ward when he was charged in March 2022, but he was able to continue as the MP after being returned by the voters of Kiama.
Ward is currently on remand in prison.
Ward had sought an ex parte injunction on Monday night to prevent the parliament expelling him, but the court of appeal lifted the injunction on Thursday, clearing the way for parliament to expel him on Friday.
That was scheduled to occur at 10.30am with the support of both Labor and the opposition. But Ward resigned by letter at about 9am on Friday.
The chief justice, Andrew Bell, oversaw Thursday’s court hearing alongside justice Anna Mitchelmore and Jeremy Kirk. Bell, who delivered the judgment, said he rejected the arguments put forward by Ward’s lawyers, stating the “notice of intention to appeal does not affect the power of the assembly to expel him”.
The speaker must now issue a writ for a byelection under the Electoral Act. In practice, it can take some days or weeks for the writ to be issued.
