A former Liberal MP who was forced to resign from the party after he revealed he was the subject of sexual abuse allegations is nevertheless leading the primary vote count in his New South Wales seat, which he contested as an independent.
Gareth Ward, who was subsequently charged over allegations of sexual abuse against a man and a 17-year-old boy, has received 38.2% of the primary vote in the coastal seat of Kiama, with around 40% of votes counted. Ward has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Labor’s Katelin McInerney, however, leads the two-party preferred count 51.9% to 48.1% after preference flows – a 13.92% swing to Labor.
Ward said on Sunday the seat was still up for grabs.
“The people in Kiama have spoken – we now need to work out what they said,” Ward told Guardian Australia on Sunday morning.
“With thousands of pre-polls and postals yet to count, Kiama is anyone’s bet.”
On the primary vote, the incumbent Ward beat both the Liberal party and the Greens in all 23 booths across the electorate, and outpolled Labor in 15.
At the Berry public booth Ward received twice as many votes as any other candidate – receiving 746 to Labor’s 386.
Kiama MP @garethjward casts his vote in the final hour of election day at Bomaderry Public School. The Liberal-turned-independent is “hoping for independence day in Kiama”. #nswpol pic.twitter.com/IoIBsAIwil
— Dylan Arvela (@dylanarvela) March 25, 2023
Ward, a former minister in the Berejiklian government, has not been allowed to set foot inside parliament since March last year, when the government moved a suspension motion against him and Dominic Perrottet publicly called for him to resign as an MP.
Ward has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include one count of sexual intercourse without consent, three counts of indecent assault and one count of common assault. A date for a trial is yet to be set.
He’s held Kiama since 2011, when he ended Labor’s 30-year stranglehold on the seat, and increased his margin at the 2015 and 2019 elections – bucking a 12% swing against the Coalition since it won power.
McInerney, a former journalist and media union organiser, reached out to supporters on Saturday evening after polls closed in Kiama.
“Thank you to everyone who has voted, volunteered and supported our campaign for a fresh start,” she wrote on social media.
“No matter the result, I am proud of the positive campaign we have run and looking forward to watching the results come in with family, friends and supporters.”
Labor Kiama candidate Katelin McInerney passing incumbent independent Gareth Ward on her way to vote. Both targeting last-minute votes at Mt Terry PS - one of the seat’s largest polling stations. #nswpol pic.twitter.com/ySBeWgWwuj
— Dylan Arvela (@dylanarvela) March 24, 2023
The Liberal party’s Kiama candidate Melanie Gibbons had received just 11.4% of first preferences, having departed her former seat of Holsworthy after losing a party pre-selection ballot last year.
She trailed Greens candidate Tonia Gray, who had received 12.3% of the primary vote on Sunday morning.
Labor retained office in the nearby Bega electorate, while South Coast candidate Liza Butler has defied the odds and wrangled the seat off the Coalition with a massive 15% swing.
