NSW Premier Chris Minns is demanding answers from Gareth Ward, after the independent MP apparently rocked up to parliament in a pair of boxer shorts earlier this year.
If you read that and thought, WTF?, let me spill a little parliamentary lore. On Wednesday, The Daily Telegraph reported on a parliamentary security report which alleged that Ward — the independent Kiama MP — had arrived at NSW Parliament House in the wee morning hours of July 21.
According to that report, Ward was wearing a “t-shirt, underwear and socks” when he arrived at parliament house in a state of undress at around 4am. The report also claimed that Ward had a gash on his head and smelled of alcohol (rough night?), though he has since denied he was drunk when the incident took place.
Now, Minns has responded to the security report and asked “parliament and Mr Ward… to explain what happened here”, the premier said on Thursday.
Minns described the incident as “very serious” and “far from appropriate in a workplace”, adding that Ward’s alleged attire would not “be appropriate in the Commonwealth Bank or the Department of Education, and I think taxpayers would say it’s not appropriate in the NSW parliament, either”.
Appropriate for a hangover in bed with the blinds closed? Sure. But for a visit to the government building where you work? Probably not.
Minns said he would be looking into Ward’s explanations around the matter, and stressed that parliament house “is a workplace”.
“We’ve all got a responsibility to uphold standards and behaviour inside that building even if it is at 4am in the morning”, Minns said.
The Guardian reports that the government has since passed a motion to refer the matter to the ethics committee, who will determine the appropriateness of Ward’s conduct and if any action should be taken as a result.
For his part, Ward has refuted the characterisation of his conduct, saying in a statement on Thursday that the “imputation that I was drunk is wrong”.
The MP explained that he had gone to parliament that morning after being woken by a noise in the night and locking himself out of his Potts Point apartment.
Since there was “no prospect of getting a locksmith”, Ward explained, he took the “eight minutes’ walk/jog to parliament” to retrieve his spare set of keys, still wearing what sounds like his pyjamas.
Ward claimed that he didn’t see anyone apart from a security guard, who granted him access to the building. The MP refused to comment further on the matter, adding that reports around the incident are the “sort of gutter journalism that sees faith in some journalists fall to an all-time low”.
Minns also referenced another matter from 2020, in which Ward was escorted home by police after being found naked outside of his home. Ward claimed at the time that he was sleepwalking and disoriented after receiving “general anaesthetic for a procedure” earlier that week.
“This isn’t the first time an incident like this has happened with this member of parliament”, Minns said on Thursday, “so it’s a major concern”.
Ward was previously a minister in the Gladys Berejiklian government, but was later suspended from parliament after being charged with a series of historical sex offences. The MP has categorically denied the charges and is currently defending them.
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