Convicted rapist Gareth Ward resigned as a New South Wales parliamentarian moments before legislators assembled to forcibly expel him, the BBC reported.
The independent member for Kiama tendered his resignation at about 9 a.m. local time on Friday, minutes before a scheduled vote that would have made him the first lawmaker ejected from NSW’s lower house in 108 years.
Ward’s departure followed an unsuccessful Supreme Court challenge where his lawyers argued expulsion before his sentencing appeal would be “an affront to the foundations of representative democracy.”
The 44-year-old, currently incarcerated at Cessnock Correctional Centre, was convicted in July of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old at his home in 2013 and raping a 24-year-old political staffer after a parliamentary event in 2015.
The jury delivered unanimous guilty verdicts on one count of sexual intercourse without consent and three counts of indecent assault following a nine-week trial. Ward faces up to 14 years imprisonment at his September sentencing.
Legal battle precedes resignation
Ward’s refusal to resign despite his convictions ignited a constitutional crisis. After his bail was revoked last week, he announced intentions to represent his South Coast electorate from prison while appealing the verdict, a move Premier Chris Minns condemned as untenable.
On Monday, Ward sought an injunction blocking Tuesday’s planned expulsion vote. The Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed his application Thursday, with Chief Justice Andrew Bell rejecting claims that parliamentary action would prejudice his appeal.
This cleared the path for Friday’s historic vote, which would have marked the first expulsion since 1917. Leader of the House Ron Hoenig noted the rarity of such proceedings, lamenting that Ward had subjected parliament to what opposition leader Mark Speakman called “cat and mouse games” instead of resigning promptly after conviction.
“I would have thought being a convicted rapist is enough infamy without going down in history as both a convicted rapist as well as the first person in a century to be expelled,” Hoenig said.
Ward’s resignation triggers a byelection in Kiama, a seat he held since 2011. Despite being suspended from parliament in 2022, constituents controversially re-elected him in 2023 with a reduced majority.
Premier Minns welcomed the resignation but criticised its timing:
“A lot of time, effort and energy was spent in the NSW Supreme Court proving what most people who live in this state would have known instinctively. And that is, if you are convicted of some of the most serious charges – sexual assault in NSW – you can’t sit as a serving member of parliament drawing a parliamentary salary,” he told reporters.
Both major parties had pledged support for the expulsion motion, reflecting broad consensus that Ward’s position was untenable.
