NSW Premier Chris Minns ‘nervous’ as 13 candidates battle for Kiama by-election after Gareth Ward’s exit

NSW Premier Chris Minns has aired his election nerves as Kiama voters pack in to cast their vote following rapist ex-MP Gareth Ward’s shock exit. Labor is seeking to strengthen its hand in NSW parliament and Liberal leader Mark Speakman is battling warnings of a leadership spill amid the by-election. More than a dozen candidates are on the ballot paper, with polls opening across the NSW south coast seat on Saturday morning. The by-election comes only days before Ward, who held the seat from 2011 and was a former-Liberal government minister, is due to face sentencing in court after he was convicted of assaulting of two younger men. Mr Minns joined Labor candidate Katelin McInerney at Albion Park on Saturday morning, telling reporters he was “nervous” as voters flocked to the polls. “I get nervous at elections and we don’t take anything for granted,” Mr Minns said. “I think the … prevailing political thing to say in these circumstances is that we’re not worried about it, we’re not concerned about it, we don’t get nervous, but I do get nervous. “We’ve got a great candidate who’s run a really strong campaign. “I’ve seen election campaigns so many times over the years where you think one thing’s gonna happen and the opposite happens.” Ms McInerney said she was “proud” to be standing as Labor’s candidate, casting her vote with her five-year-old son at the Mount Terry Public School voting booth in Albion. Speakman ‘sleeps comfortably’ For Labor, a win in Kiama would allow the party to extend its control over the verdant south coast, from the northern Illawarra to the Victorian border, while for the NSW Liberals failure could bring on a leadership spill. Liberal leader Mark Speakman told reporters on Friday he “sleeps comfortably” when asked if he feared a spill against him if the party were to lose, and that his focus as leader “is to fight for the people of NSW”. He has sought – as Labor have done, too – to cast the Liberals as the underdogs in Kiama, and called on voters not to “reward Labor for its neglect” alongside Shoalhaven councillor and candidate, Serena Copley. Crowded field of ‘underdogs’ Premier Chris Mins told reporters on Friday the ballot was “going to be close” and that the party were not taking anything for granted after their candidate, Katelin McInerney, narrowly lost to Ward in 2023. That sentiment was not shared among either voters nor fellow political hopefuls, with Kate Dezarnaulds, an independent backed previously by Climate 200, stating there was “no doubt” Labor will win. “That’s going to mean that we have wall-to-wall Labor at a federal and state level south of Sydney,” she said. “I don’t think that’s great for democracy, and I don’t think that’s a reflection of the voters’ intentions on the ground. “But that is the result of a Liberal Party in disarray and an incredibly muscular Labor Party machine that has thrown absolutely everything at this to win it.” On Gareth Ward, Ms Dezarnaulds said Kiama loved having an “available local member who was a really strong advocate for community issues that might not necessarily have fitted neatly with the party positions”. Ms Dezarnaulds went on to state that there was “nothing unique about Gareth in being able to provide that” and that “the unknown factor of this election” was were the majority of his voters would now go. No more ‘skeletons in the closet’ The Premier said one thing the ballot had “categorically done” was “ruled a line under (Ward’s) time period in office”, but for voters who for more than a decade voted for the disgraced MP, it’s not so simple. Bronwen Carr cast her ballot alongside partner James on Friday afternoon at Kiama Uniting Church, with Ms Copley, Mr Speakman, and Green’s candidate Dr Tonia Gray all handing out how-to-vote cards. She said she knew both Dr Gray and Labor’s Ms McInerney and that “there are no skeletons hiding in the closet”. Asked about Ward, Ms Carr said she was “furious” upon his criminal conviction in August. “As soon as you get charged, there should be a law that for an offence like that, you do not go to election. He’s wasted all our time. It’s cost us, but already he had no voice in parliament,” Ms Carr said. Ms Carr said put Greens first because “Labor needs a boot” on environmental issues, including the recently-announced Great Koala National Park, and singled out Environment Minister Penny Sharpe. “Chris Minns seems to be more Liberal than Liberal, so I’d rather have more Greens being the conscience of Labor and saying, ‘No, you can’t do this. You’ve got a moral duty to children and grandchildren to preserve.’” Another voter at the Kiama church, Susie, said Gareth Ward had been a “great member” and that while “it’s good to see that there’s a lot of people running for the position … they’ve got a lot to live up to”.