00:00Well Gareth Ward was convicted of four sexual offences a couple of weeks ago relating to two men who he met through the course of his work as an MP on the New South Wales South Coast.
00:15Now instead of resigning after that conviction, as many of his colleagues hoped he might, he tried to hang on to his job despite being in jail awaiting sentence.
00:25So the Parliament began the process on Tuesday or at least hoped to begin the process of expelling him on Tuesday but Gareth Ward went to the Supreme Court and got a Supreme Court injunction.
00:37So the government's managed to get this heard before the Court of Appeal today and so that's where we're at.
00:43Mr Ward's barrister has told the court that a letter to Gareth Ward from the Parliament explaining the expulsion proceedings this week
00:52merely noted that he'd been convicted of four sexual offences.
00:56Now he's arguing that it should have contained more detail and that because Mr Ward wasn't being told the facts about these sexual offences,
01:05the unworthy conduct hadn't been laid out to him.
01:10This argument seemed to be met with a fairly unimpressed response from some on the bench.
01:17Chief Justice Bell said, are you seriously saying that being convicted of those offences is not unworthy conduct?
01:23Mr Ward's barrister said that no, listing the convictions themselves, that did not amount to unworthy conduct
01:30and that his client should have been asked to respond to specific behaviour.
01:35Another justice, Justice Kirk said that Mr Ward of all people should understand what he's being accused of given that he's just been convicted by a jury.
01:44And again, Gareth Ward's barrister said that the specific allegations should have been put to his client.
01:50He's also been arguing that expelling Gareth Ward would be punitive.
01:54He's called Parliament a kangaroo court in that respect.
01:59He's also saying that because his client plans to appeal the conviction, that Parliament should not expel him
02:06because if he's ultimately acquitted of this, he would have lost his job, he will have lost everything.
02:13And he's also made the case that because a sentence is still coming, that if Parliament expelled him, that would amount to punishment
02:21and that could interfere in the sentencing process.
02:24And Chief Justice Bell said he didn't think there was anything that would impede the sentencing process.
02:30So look, it has been somewhat of a difficult day for Gareth Ward's barristers.
02:37For his barrister, he's been told that some of his arguments are extraordinary
02:41and that at times he's been boxing at shadows.
02:44Look, this is a really interesting case from the government's perspective
02:48and it does present a real dilemma.
02:51It's arguing that Parliament is not punishing Mr Ward, but protecting itself and its own reputation.
02:59And it's arguing that it has the right to expel an MP for unworthy conduct, which it says Gareth Ward's behaviour clearly is.
03:08Now the government barrister is also arguing that, you know, Parliament has the power to conduct its own affairs without interference.
03:17And the state government has already made it clear that it believes Parliament has the right to take this action regardless of what the court says.
03:26So look, it's hoping to win in court today because that would be the easiest course of action.
03:31It then hopes to hold a fairly swift vote and have Gareth Ward gone by the end of the week.
03:37But if it doesn't win, it does look likely that the Parliament could try to proceed with this anyway.
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