The Member for Kiama, Gareth Ward, has been suspended from the NSW Legislative Assembly, which means that he is unable to speak or vote in Parliament.

The suspension follows Mr Ward being charged with three counts of assault with act of indecency, and one count each of sexual intercourse without consent and common assault [MP Gareth Ward charged: Premier calls for resignation]. He denies the charges.

Mr Ward has released the following statement, “The Legislative Assembly of the Parliament has today taken the step of suspending me as a member based on allegations that I completely deny and that have yet to be tested in a court of law.

“I am extremely disappointed with that decision.

“The effect of the decision is that I am unable to speak and vote in Parliament.

“I will, however, continue to represent and lobby for my local community as its democratically elected member of Parliament.

"As challenging a time as this is for me personally, I have an important job to do and I intend to get on with it.”

The Premier originally called on Mr Ward to resign or he would be removed from Parliament, but such an action was found not to be legal.

The Bugle consulted constitutional law expert Professor Anne Twomey, of the University of Sydney, about the implications of a suspension this morning, and she gave this background:

A suspended member is excluded from the Parliamentary precincts and cannot take part in any proceedings of the House or its committees (Standing Order 253). That does not prevent the Member from working in his or her electorate office, continuing to support the interests of his or her electors. The Member still gets paid his or her salary. The House has no power to ‘punish’, and the removal of the Member’s salary would appear to be a punishment. 

Members are frequently suspended for small amounts of time (eg a Member is ‘named’ for being disorderly during Question Time). Suspension for a longer time is more unusual. Michael Egan was suspended from the Legislative Council in 1998 for refusing to produce certain government documents. 

Suspension of a Member charged with a criminal offence until a verdict is given by a jury (under Standing Order 255) is more unusual still. 

Mr W P Crick was suspended under such a Standing Order in the 1906 pending a criminal trial. He challenged his suspension in Court and the Privy Council held that the House has the power to suspend him in these circumstances. 

The suspension motion, by Acting Premier Paul Toole, noted the Government could not withhold the renumeration of a suspended member, but that advice had been sought to have that changed by legislation.