A NSW MP who denies charges of rape and indecent assault says he’s “keen to get back to work” if he’s reelected.
Kiama MP Gareth Ward is 615 votes ahead of his Labor opponent Katelin McInerney with the postal vote count continuing.
“It would be unpardonably arrogant for me to say anything about the election results when there’s still lots and lots of votes to count,” Ward told Crikey on Wednesday morning.
His comments came just a day after he appeared in court to plead not guilty. Police allege Ward indecently assaulted a 17-year-old boy on the NSW south coast in 2013 and that he raped a 27-year-old man in Sydney in 2015.
Nowra District Court documents show Ward entered not guilty pleas to all five charges against him on Tuesday.
“I am resolute about all of the matters I’ve been confronting, I’m just keen to get back to work,” Ward said. “Obviously I need to wait for all the votes to be counted, once that’s done we’ll know what the outcome is.”
Outside court on Tuesday, Ward said he “passionately believes in the presumption of innocence”: “It’s not an optional extra, it’s a human right.”
If first-preference postal votes are any indication, Ward is likely to be reelected. The electoral commission reported 1066 of those votes were in favour of Ward, more than the combined share received by his Liberal and Labor opponents.
Ward was a Liberal before he was charged, and was selected by former premier Gladys Berejiklian to be minister for families, communities and disability services in 2019. He held those posts until May 2021, when it emerged police were investigating allegations against him.
His Liberal opponent in last Saturday’s election was Melanie Gibbons, who formerly represented the state seat of Holsworthy in south-west Sydney.
