Page 5 - Michael Johnsen News Today

Last modified on Fri 14 May 2021 00.20 EDT Revelations that New South Wales police are investigating sexual violence allegations against Liberal MP Gareth Ward have plunged the Berejiklian government deeper into minority government and could reverberate in the approaching Upper Hunter byelection. The news, which broke on Thursday afternoon, is also inflaming tensions within the Coalition, particularly as the 22 May byelection was triggered by allegations of sexual misconduct by a Nationals MP. ...

Premier won’t force Gareth Ward to quit over sexual violence allegations We’re sorry, this service is currently unavailable. Please try again later. Dismiss Save Normal text size Advertisement Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she will not force Gareth Ward to quit politics while police are investigating the former minister for allegations of sexual violence. Ms Berejiklian said she was “shocked and distressed” by the allegation but said Mr Ward had done the right thing by mov...

Last modified on Fri 14 May 2021 16.02 EDT Standing on a hill overlooking the sprawling maze of paddocks he’s worked all his 71 years, Ian Moore rattles off the names of Nationals MPs he’s supported in the Upper Hunter during his 50 years as a member of the party. Col Fisher, the local MP for 18 years from 1970, lived just over the hill from Moore’s farm in Jerrys Plains, a tiny village west of Singleton. Fisher was “an honourable” man, he remembers. So too George Souri...

Advertisement On the fence of a hilltop home in the Upper Hunter, a local construction manager and father of four is smiling down reassuringly on the traffic below. It’s the cardboard face of Dave Layzell, the Nationals party candidate plucked to save the regional state electorate – and help manage the woes of Berejiklian minority government – in next week’s make or break byelection. Former Nationals candidate George Souris stands outside his home with poster for current can...

Dysfunction is slowly engulfing Gladys Berejiklian’s government We’re sorry, this service is currently unavailable. Please try again later. Dismiss May 15, 2021 — 5.30am May 15, 2021 — 5.30am Save Normal text size Advertisement In just 10 weeks, two separate sexual assault allegations, a corruption inquiry and disloyalty have claimed four MPs from the Berejiklian government. So dire is the situation, the Coalition – which 10 years ago celebrated the largest electoral wi...

Share on Twitter The NSW premier says shes concerned and distressed by sexual assault allegations levelled against sidelined frontbencher Gareth Ward, as her government faces the prospect of sinking further into minority. Mr Ward denies any wrongdoing and is yet to be contacted by police over the allegations, which he says he learned about in media reports. The Kiama MP on Thursday night stepped aside as families, communities and disability services minister after identifying himsel...

Advertisement In just a matter of weeks the Berejiklian government’s majority has dissolved, with scandal after scandal forcing Coalition MPs to the crossbench or out of Parliament altogether. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s government has been plunged into minority. Credit:James Alcock March 3 - John Sidoti Liberal member for Drummoyne and former sports minister John Sidoti announces he will move to the crossbench after the Independent Commission Against Corruption confirms it will ...

SCOTT HAMMOND/STUFF Grassmere farmer Humphrey Askin says the dry season has been a struggle. He’s pictured next to his pond which usually has a lot more water. While farming in Marlborough can be a “real struggle”, farmers say that’s the price you pay for having stock in the region. Despite rain in April being only 15 per cent of the long-term average for Marlborough, according to the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa), the region is not technically in a drough...

The Berejiklian Government has been plunged further into minority after NSW Disability Minister resigned from cabinet and moved to the crossbench amid revelations he is the subject of a police investigation into sexual violence-related allegations.

NSW Minister for Families, Communities and Disability Services Gareth Ward has outed himself as the MP under police investigation over allegations of sexual violence. In a statement released on Thursday, Ward said he denies any wrongdoing but will stand aside as Minister and from the Liberal Party room. “Today I have been made aware by a journalist of an investigation into me by NSW Police,” Ward said. “I have not been contacted by police in relation to any allegations. “Until this mat...