A second Kiama MP has been caught out in his undies. Maybe there’s something in the air? Photos: John Shepherd.
What is it about Kiama MPs being caught out in their underpants?
On Wednesday the news broke in Sydney media about current Kiama MP Gareth Ward turning up to Parliament House in the early hours of a Sunday morning in the middle of winter wearing just a T-shirt, socks and underwear.
Mr Ward claims he had accidentally locked himself out of his nearby apartment and decided to walk/jog to parliament to retrieve a spare key.
Hello Mr Ward, ever heard of the spare-key-under-the-pot-plant or the fake rock in which to hide a spare? Bet he’s invested in one now.
But Mr Ward isn’t the first Kiama MP to be caught out in his jocks and socks and now the Libs and ALP are even stevens in the underwear department.
Back in 2008, the then Kiama MP Matt Brown allegedly stripped down to his underpants and danced on a leather couch in his office following a boozy post-Budget session.
There were sordid claims that he had danced semi-naked and simulated a sex act with the then Wollongong MP Noreen Hay during the party, claims which both MPs strenuously denied.
Mr Brown, who had been promoted to police minister just four days earlier, was forced to resign when the new Labor premier Nathan Rees declared his behaviour was “not befitting a minister”.
The Illawarra Mercury’s legendary cartoonist, the late Vince O’Farrell, drew a caricature of Mr Brown in a Superman-type cape and undies and bestowed the nickname Captain Underpants. It stuck.
Ironically, at the next state election in 2011, Mr Brown was heavily defeated by the new kid on the block, Liberal challenger Gareth Ward, suffering a swing of over 19 per cent.
Mr Ward is either the unluckiest bloke around or the unluckiest bloke to be caught out.
In 2020 the then-families minister was twice escorted to his Sydney home by police after being found sleepwalking naked.
Mr Ward, who had earlier been admitted to hospital for a medical procedure, said he did not remember the incident.
And in 2017, he was targeted in a blackmail scam in New York after ordering a massage to his hotel room.
Mr Ward is yet to face court on two charges of sexual assault in separate incidents in Sydney and the Shoalhaven. He’s pleaded not guilty and is due to have his day in court next April.
The allegations have already cost him his Liberal Party membership but his constituents – whom Mr Ward would no doubt say are the people who matter – continue to support him, returning him as an independent at the 2023 election albeit with a reduced majority.
And unlike the majority of MPs who’ve held the title of Minister for the Illawarra – or in Mr Ward’s case parliamentary secretary for the Illawarra and South Coast – he appears almost bulletproof.
Those who have been around the Illawarra long enough will be aware of how the title of Minister for the Illawarra, created in 2003, has become somewhat of a poisoned chalice.
There have been six MPs who’ve been stripped of the title due to behaviour unbecoming, starting with Mr Brown, who only held the title for a mere four days before losing it, then Keira MP David Campbell a couple of years later.
Former Heathcote MP Paul McLeay resigned in 2010 after admitting accessing gambling and adult sites on his government-issued computer.
Eric Roozendaal held the role for six months in 2010-2011 until he was suspended by the Labor Party ahead of an ICAC inquiry into his dealings with disgraced power broker Eddie Obeid. ICAC cleared him and he later resigned from parliament in 2013.
The same year, NSW finance minister Greg Pearce was dumped from the role after allegedly being drunk in the parliamentary chamber.
In 2015 the minister for the Illawarra John Ajaka was accused of failing to declare a first-class upgrade during a $26,000 taxpayer-funded overseas trip. Mr Ajaka denied the claims and held onto his title for 11 months until the state election.
The role was effectively abandoned after the 2015 election, until the Labor Party returned to power in 2023 and Keira MP Ryan Park bravely accepted the portfolio along with that of Health.
Mr Park and Mr Ward are apparently mates away from the political spotlight – maybe Mr Park could chip in a few bucks to buy his parliamentary colleague some PJs, or at least a decent robe.
And while you’re at it Mr Park, please make sure you’re covered too.
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